


Concealed Devotion

by MercuryK



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, Honeymaren and Bruni are bffs, Internalized Homophobia, Kristoff is sweet, Slow Burn, Upped the rating to Mature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:07:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 82,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21624241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercuryK/pseuds/MercuryK
Summary: Elsa doesn't want to admit that she has feelings for Honeymaren, terrified of what might happen if she does. But when the world pushes her to face her hidden desires, she can't help the rapid beating of her heart from spiralling her magic out of control. Left in a state of panic, she has to figure out how to get her magic back under control while getting a handle on her feelings for the Northuldra, all without letting Anna find out.There are some explicit chapters. All of those have disclaimers the the top.
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 618
Kudos: 2743





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The people of Northuldra had been more than welcoming of Elsa’s decision to stay. It had surprised her at first how openly curious and excited they were about her powers, but despite her uncertainty towards their response, she was more than happy for the warm acceptance. For the first time in her life she felt completely in control of her powers, and at peace with herself. Though over the past three years in Arendelle her people had come to admire her abilities like you would a side show, the people of Northuldra respected her on a much deeper level. It was freeing.

There was a light smile on her face as she watched the Elders tell a tale to a few children gathered around the campfire. There had been more people in the mythical forest than she or Anna had initially realised, with three more small villages scattered throughout the trees. Yelana, the leader of the tribe, had taken her on a tour around the neighbouring areas during her first week there. Honeymaren and Ryder had accompanied them, which had given Elsa a chance to get to know them better.

From her perch at the side of the camp she cast a glance out through the gathering of people until she spotted the duo laughing while Ryder gestured around wildly. The sight made her lip pull higher, her chest warming. The cold weather may not bother her, but she could see by the layered clothing and chattering teeth that winters’ chill was in the air. At times like this, as she watched the people huddle around the giant fire, she missed Anna more so than usual. The easy connection between Ryder and Honeymaren reminded her so greatly of her and Anna that it almost hurt. They visited each other frequently, but it wasn’t the same as being able to simply walk into another room and see her lazing there with Kristoff or playing with Olaf. She sighed, and picked at the bark on the log she sat on, gazing absentmindedly into the trees past the gathering of small yurts and larger huts.

“You okay?” The voice made her jump, and the bark she was scratching at flicked off sharply as she froze the surrounding area. Whipping her head to the side she noticed that Honeymaren had appeared beside her at some point. She blinked, realising that she had zoned out for much longer than she had thought.

“Elsa?” Honeymaren tucked the long trail of her winter tunic underneath her and sat down on the log next to her, carefully avoiding the frozen patch of bark between them. “You seemed a little melancholy over here by yourself.” The Northuldran woman smiled softly at her, her rounded cheeks pulling up with the movement. Elsa was drawn to the movement for a second longer than usual.

“I was just thinking about Anna. I hope she’s doing okay down there without me, that’s all.” Honeymaren let out a chuckle, something about the comment entertaining her. Elsa frowned and watched her laugh, waiting for an explanation.

“I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about there. Anna seems like a more than capable person, and from what we saw when we visited last week I would say she’s doing just fine.” Elsa hummed in agreement, and looked away. Honeymaren studied the look on Elsa’s face, resting one elbow on her knee as she lent forward, gaining her attention once more.

“You know you’re allowed to just miss her right? You don’t have to have a reason for it.” The two had grown quite close in the month Elsa had stayed there, so she let her guard down, the tension in her shoulders escaping in a sigh.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m not very good at… emotions. Well, without, you know, freezing stuff.” That got a small laugh out of both of them.

“Yeah well I don’t think the pressure of being Queen probably helped much in that area, did it?” She shifted closer, the frozen patch having thawed. Elsa's tiny frame appeared so fragile next to her lean stature, and she couldn’t help but wonder how such a tiny person could contain such raw power.

“No, not really.” Elsa looked back the scene in front of them. There was a warmth emanating from Honeymaren that seemed to seep into every part of her which she found she greatly enjoyed. “Everyone here is great, but it’s all so different. It takes a bit of getting used to.” They both smiled widely as a man chased his two children between the gathered people, the two boys yelling loudly as he made a variety of animal noises. “I’m used to… more rules.”

The women sat comfortably for a while longer, the sun having long since set behind the horizon, and the conversation relaxed. Honeymaren was the first to stand up, a shiver rippling through her as she rubbed her arms.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your hut.”

Elsa looked up at Honeymaren, the fire flickering behind her casting a copper glow to the stray strands of hair escaping her braid as they caught in the breeze. She took a second to take in the image before Honeymaren reached out a hand to pull her up. Elsa took it delicately, using it to steady herself as she pushed herself up. She was taller than the other woman due to her heels alone, and considerably paler, which seemed even more noticeable with her hand laid on top of Honeymarens. “Thank you” she said quietly, withdrawing her hand. She felt herself shiver as Honeymarens fingers curled slightly when she pulled away, brushing against the sensitive skin of her palm. Her eyes flicked up to the pair in front of her, their hazel colour seeming darker than usual as they stared intently back into hers, the woman silent and unmoving. She found her gaze drawn to the soft protrusion of her cheekbones, following them down her shaped jaw and back up to her mouth. An odd feeling fluttered in her chest, and she felt warmer than usual.

It took no more than three seconds for Elsa to regain herself, clearing her throat and taking a step to the side. Honeymaren took a deep breath, and Elsa realised she hadn’t noticed the rise and fall of the shorter woman's chest during their interaction. It was curious, but she let it go, wrapping her arms around herself to rid her palm of the lingering tickling sensation.

They walked silently to Elsa’s hut, the relaxed air seeming to have turned suddenly awkward. Stopping outside, Elsa turned to face Maren, who was looking at the floor, a slight frown painted on her face. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but something stopped her.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” She asked politely.  
Honeymaren looked up, the frown disappearing instantly. There was a hopefulness playing on her face like that of child. “Tomorrow?”

“You wanted to show me the place by the Eastern River? I have no other obligations if you still wanted to?” Maren looked at her for a moment longer, her eyes flicking between hers as if in question, and Elsa felt herself shift uncomfortably on the balls of her feet.

“Sure, that sounds great.” They bid each other goodnight and parted ways, Elsa feeling uncertain about the direction their evening had gone in.

***

Elsa, Honeymaren and Ryder set out to visit the Eastern River together, the two natives racing each other on reindeer, both wrapped up in thick furs to protect against the bitter temperatures, as Elsa galloped alongside them on her frozen horse. After an hour or so of riding, the two siblings came to a stop to dismount, the laughter flowing freely between them as their reindeer jumped around each other playfully. Elsa followed suit, looking around curiously. They had ridden through an area of forest that Elsa hadn’t seen before, and the feeling of being lost was starting to unsettle her. The trees seemed shorter, and more dense here. She found herself running a hand across their white trunks as she walked over to Ryder, who was rubbing at his face to warm it up.

“Where are we? Surely this should have been outside the mist?” She asked, genuinely unsure.

“You’d think so, right?” Ryder looked around, displaying a look of serenity.

Honeymaren walked over to them, her reindeer padding along softly behind her. She mirrored her brothers peaceful look, lips pulled into a gentle smile. “Our main tribe, where we’re living now, is on the south western area of the mist line. This is the eastern most part. The river is just over there,” she pointed to where Elsa could hear a soft trickle of water, “it used to fade into the mist, but now we should be able to see where it goes.”

Elsa was amazed. The mist had covered a much larger area than she had thought, and hid so many wonders; she was grateful she had a chance to explore the land her mother had grown up in. Ryder grabbed Honeymarens wrist and dragged her off in the direction of the water, letting Elsa follow behind, cautious of being left behind. It took barely a couple of minutes for them to navigate to the river, which Elsa would argue was definitely a stream by the size of it. She felt her eyes widen as they reached the area they were searching for, the trees closest to the stream carved into intricate animals and patterns, their branches filled with charms and painted with rich colours.

“What is this place?” She asked in wonder.

Ryder had already taken out his knife and was adding a variety of lines to a decorated fox carving right next to the water's edge. Elsa glanced at Honeymaren, catching her leaning against an unmarked tree, watching her. She felt her cheeks colour slightly, and looked away quickly.

“It's a special place for our people.” Maren said, pushing off of the tree and sauntering over to Elsa. She waited for Elsa to turn to look at her, before continuing. “When the mist first descended, my people tried to travel as far east as they could to find an escape. Obviously they found nothing, but Arron, the leader at the time, carved a prayer symbol into a tree. Since then its become a tradition for people who came to the east river to carve something. Over thirty years and a few very bored carvers and this is the result.” She shrugged, looking around.

“It’s beautiful…” Elsa said, not able to think of something better to aptly sum up how amazed she was by the sight in front of her. A large amount of the white trees had been covered in bright pinks and oranges before carving, while others had been fully carved into giant statues and painted in vibrant yellows and purples. The colours contrasted starkly against the winter's dull palette. She cast a glance back over to Ryder to study his work of art, chuckling at the concentration on his face as he dug the tip of his knife into the animal's tail. His tongue was stuck out at an angle, making him look like a child.

“Do you have something here too, Maren?” She turned to her female companion, awaiting a reply. Honeymaren stilled, her face pulling into a grimace.

“She does!” Ryder shouted over to them, making Honeymaren groan, cocking her head to the side. “What? You do!” His sister glared at him, and he flung his hands in the air. Elsa bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

“I’m… not as much of an artist as Ryder i’m afraid. But if you want to see it…” She took a step in the opposite direction to Ryder, throwing a final glare at him.

They walked for a minute or two, before Honeymaren sighed dramatically in front of a tree. The bark had been whittled into a series of stars and swirls, but the lines were jagged and messy, with odd patches of white stained an odd colour. The brown smears had been mostly washed away, but the darkened patches betrayed the presence of what looked to have been blood. Elsa could only guess that the woman had had more than one accident while trying to carve the wood. She walked around the tree, spotting odd attempts to add to the pictures, but most were indecipherable. She glanced at her friend, and couldn't help laughing when she saw her nervously kicking at stones on the ground while leaning against an untouched tree. She curled in on herself, visibly embarrassed.

“I told you I wasn’t much of an artist.” She grumbled.

Elsa slid up to her, taking her hand and squeezing it until Maren met her gaze. “I think it’s cute.” She tried to contain her snickering, but a few huffs escaped nonetheless. She felt the woman squeeze her hand back, face scrunching up as she looked over at the mess of a tree.

“Cute might not be the right word for it. But I appreciate it anyway.” She chuckled briefly, breath forming visibly in the cold air, before bringing her gaze back to the giggling girl in front of her.

Elsa could have sworn she saw her face flush slightly, and wondered if it was a trick of the light. Her giggling stopped, and her smile began to drop when she realised once again that Honeymaren seemed to have stopped breathing. Their hands were still intertwined, and suddenly Elsa was all too aware of their proximity. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Honeymaren’s, and she felt more than saw the woman raise her free hand to hover it inches above her cheek, before resting it on the pale skin. The touch seemed to burn her, and Elsa recoiled, the floor under their feet freezing in a flash of white. She dropped her hand, looking away. Her heartbeat was racing, and a sense of confusion settled over her. A hurt look shone painfully on Maren’s face, but Elsa avoided looking.

“We should probably head back to your brother.” She crossed her arms, feeling her hands tremble, a cold sweat covering her body. Something about this woman was making her feel ill, and it was terrifying. She didn’t stop as she made her way over to Ryder, who looked up curiously at her silent return.

The siblings ran swiftly off to follow the stream, with Elsa in tow, until they broke free of the thick tree lining and into a much sparser area, where a few animals could be seen drinking from the clear liquid. They scattered at the noise the three made, and Elsa found herself wishing they would stay, if just to give her something to focus on other than her thoughts. She has felt so at peace with herself the past month or so, but the tingling sensation of anxiety was beginning to rear its head once more. Whatever was happening with Maren was causing her emotions to run a mile a minute, which was never a good sign, she thought as she watched the girl walk out of the corner of her eye. Every time Elsa caught herself staring at Honeymaren now she was faced with the unnatural reaction, her fingertips prickling with cold, heartbeat increasing, breathing growing haggard.

Honeymaren turned her head while Elsa was wrapped up staring at her, and the woman smiled sweetly, but there was a dip to her brow that displayed her uncertainty. Elsa was reassured by the fact that her friend didn’t seem immune to the problem she was facing, though she still didn’t know what it was.

***

A week passed and Anna was due to visit with Kristoff, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Mattais for a long weekend. She was excited to see her sister, but part of her was nervous. Elsa hadn’t been actively avoiding Honeymaren, but she had found more than one excuse to drag Ryder or one of the other tribesmen around with them so they wouldn’t ever be alone. It was childish she was sure, but she was uncomfortable with the odd feeling she was experiencing, and that seemed like the best immediate solution until the issue resolved itself. However, Anna could read her like a book, and she was worried her sister would be able to pick up that something was amiss.

She was laid on her bed late one morning when someone knocked on one of the wooden frames to the hut. She sat up quickly, brushing down her dress before calling the person outside.

“Come In.” She hoped it was a messenger telling her Anna had arrived, for she had been expected to arrive a few hours prior, but instead the cloth lifted to reveal Honeymaren. Elsa stood up, her heart skipping a beat. “Honeymaren, I wasn’t expecting you.” She saw the darker girl cringe as her tone so obviously betrayed her discomfort, but she let the cloth fall down behind her anyway, confining them into the private interaction.

“We need to talk.” She looked solemn. A moment of uncertainty flashed visibly across her face, before she removed her hat and unclipped her coat, setting them down on the stool next to Elsa's bed. She sat to the edge of the cot silently, patting the spot next to her where Elsa had been sitting only moments ago.

“What do you want to talk about?” Elsa enquired, trying to feign ignorance. She sat slowly, perching stiffly next to the other girl. She knew she was sick, and her emotions were not suitably under control, so she kept her hands rested on her knees to prevent accidentally freezing her bed.

Honeymaren kept her eyes cast down to the floor. “Have I done something to make you uncomfortable?” Elsa frowned at that, looking at her.

“Uncomfortable? How so?” Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and it swished as turned to look at Honeymaren.

“I’m not very good at hiding my feelings. I’m not sure how things are done in Arendalle, so I feel like I may have done something wrong.” She sounded miserable, the dark rings around her eyes revealing the sleep she had lost to worrying.

“Maren… I don’t know what…” She paused before continuing, not sure where she was going. “I don’t understand what’s happening.” She said honestly, trying her best to keep the conversation up despite her obvious anxiety.

Honeymaren took a deep breath, before leaning in slowly until they were only a few inches away. Elsa froze in place, her eyes locked to the tawny ones before her.

“Elsa…” Maren raised her hand to tuck a strand of white hair behind her ear, lingering when she didn’t pull away immediately like last time. She took a breath and chanced a glance down towards the royals parted lips. “Have you ever had feelings for someone before?” She asked cautiously. Elsa’s eyes widened and she gasped, jumping to her feet in shock, turning to stare incredulously at Honeymaren.

“T-that's- that’s not what- this isn’t…” She felt the cold shiver pass through her once again, the sensation all too familiar from when she had had her powers revealed by Anna three and a half years ago. Panic. The idea that Maren may have been attracted to her, or that she might have been… it hadn’t crossed her mind.

“Elsa…” Honeymaren stood up slowly, a hand reaching out carefully. “Calm down, its okay.” Her gaze flickered between Elsa's face and the floor, where a ring of frost was spreading out around them.

“Elsa! Where are-” At that moment Anna burst through the curtain door, stopping short as she took in the image. Both women snapped their heads around to stare at her, their faces a mirror image of a deer having seen a hunter. “What's going on?”

“Anna, I-” Elsa started, but words failed her. There was a moments silence, and Elsa looked at Honeymaren, her eyes pleading with her to salvage the situation.

“We were just talking about your parents and Elsa got upset.” Honeymaren lied smoothly, walking over to Anna with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I think she needs some sister time.” She patted Anna on the shoulder when she walked past, her eyes lingering on Elsa as she walked out.

“Elsa? Are you okay?” Anna rushed over to her when Honeymaren was gone, wrapping her up in her arms. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier, Sven wouldn’t move until we bought him more carrots and then we lost Olaf because he was gathering daisies for you.” She squeezed until she felt Elsa relax in her arms. Her hands came round to rub at her sister's arms. “What’s got you all icey?” Elsa laughed, eyes watery.

“Nothing important, I’m just glad you’re here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Anna noticed the awkward tension between Elsa and Honeymaren, as did everyone else, but no one was brave enough to comment on it. Elsa was more than grateful for it, though she wished it wasn’t as obvious in the first place. Honeymarens words kept ringing through her head, harder to ignore than even the siren that had led her here in the first place. 

_ Have you ever had feelings for someone before?  _ The memory of Maren leaning towards her made her heart flutter, and she looked up at the sky. It was surprisingly warm outside today, and Elsa was supposed to be enjoying her time with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven before they had to return. They laid together on the ground, a few thick furs sprawled out underneath them. 

Olaf chuckled suddenly, and the three of them turned to look at him, Elsa propping herself up on one elbow. Bruni, the fire spirit, was crawling over Olaf’s snow, leaving little melted footprints across his belly. 

“Hey little guy! How are you today cutie?” He made a kissy face at the little lizard, who cocked its head and jumped off to scurry into a hole in a tree. “Oh!” Olaf laughed loudly, rolling over and pushing himself up with a grunt, running after the spirit. “Come back here!”

Kristoff sighed, casting a glance at Anna, a soft grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

Anna looked back at him, concerned. 

“What's with that face? What did you do?” She raised her eyebrows judgingly and he sat up in alarm, flinging his arms up.    
“I didn’t do anything! Why do you always assume I’m doing something?” He was still grinning, his fluffy hair bouncing as he crossed his arms in fake annoyance. 

“Kristoff” Anna replied, deadpan, “you’re always doing something strange.”

“Well I-” Kristoffs smirk dropped, and his shoulders sank. His mouth opened widely in disbelief, before rolling his eyes and flopping back to the floor. “You’re right. As usual.” Anna laughed brightly. Sven huffed next to them in agreement.

“So what  _ were  _ you thinking?” She queried, reaching over to play with his hair absentmindedly. 

“I was just wondering if Olaf is easier or harder to train then our children will be.” He stated, the grin returning. That caused Elsa to chuckle, joining in the conversation. 

“Oh most definitely harder.” As if on cue Olaf came bounding back to them, tripping over and falling apart, laughing maniacally as the spirit jumped over his various parts. 

“God I hope so…” Anna said with a groan, getting up to put him back together. She patted him on the head and sent him running off again, before brushing off the dirt from her clothes and turning back to her fiance. He sat up, letting her wrap her arms around his neck from behind, peppering kisses over his face. 

Elsa watched on from her place on the floor, admiring the look of love on both of their faces. She had never felt jealous of Anna for her fairy-tale view on love, though she did envy her positive outlook on life in general. She tried to imagine herself doing the same thing to a man, and a visual of kissing Kristoff entered her mind before she could block it out, making her pull a face and shiver. 

“You okay?” He asked, noticing her scrunched up face. 

“Yeah, I just thought about something… gross.” She stated, earning a raised eyebrow from the both of them, before they launched into a conversation about children. Elsa conjured an image of Ryder in her mind, but the thought of being anything more than friendly made her uncomfortable. The image shifted, Ryders hair growing as he morphed into Honeymaren, her eyes glowing golden as she smiled. Elsa took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over her face, chewing on her lip. She quickly banished the image, but the lingering warmth left a series of doubts swirling inside of her. Had she ever felt for another person before? She had been closed off for so long she hadn’t really had a chance to worry about it until now. A memory pushed itself into life, despite her best efforts to avoid it. 

_ Elsa walked down the halls carefully, she knew Anna was nearby and she didn’t want her knowing she was there. The gentle sound of laughter floated down the hallway from one of the rooms further down the corridor, and she recognised it as Anna immediately. She paused, shifting on her feet awkwardly. It was growing dark outside, and the castle halls were lit by only a few candles dotted around the walls. She didn’t notice the shadow creeping up next to hers. _

_ “Elsa?” A quiet voice sounded from behind her, and she jumped. Automatically she glanced down at her hands, and was relieved to find the gloves still firmly in place. She let out a shaky breath, glad that the woman's voice had been quiet enough not to garner any attention from her sister. Turning, she looked up into the face of Rea, one of the younger servants working for her family. At sixteen she was only two years older than Elsa herself, but was noticeably much more confident. Elsa knew that as the princess she had authority over the girl, but she found herself shrinking under her curious gaze.  _

_ “You seem out of sorts Princess, can I help?” She took a careful step towards the younger girl and Elsa couldn’t help but notice how pretty the other girl looked, even in her servant clothes. The candle light hit her face beautifully, bringing out the yellow flecks in her green eyes. Her dark hair was tied tightly in a bun, but a few stray strands had pulled free after a hard day, and they glowed warmly.  _

_ “I um- I was just… um...” She dropped her eyes to the floor, lowering her head in embarrassment. Anna laughed again, and Elsa heard her mother’s chuckle join in. She wrung her hands together in front of her, feeling her anxiety grow.  _

_ “If you want to avoid being caught I can take you down the servants stairs?” Rea cocked a brow questioningly, making the younger girl smile smally.  _

_ “Yes please. I’m hungry…” Rea chuckled quietly and reached out a hand. Elsa looked at it nervously, before slowly placing her own gloved one on top.  _

Elsa felt the memory fade and felt a wash of embarrassment hit her. As a teenager she had been keenly aware that her appreciation of Rea had been less than normal, but had worked swiftly on justifying it as admiration of the girls confidence. More than one sleepless night had plagued her over how her heart fluttered at Rea's presence, similarly to how she was losing sleep over how Maren made her feel, but she had never truly considered it as anything more than anxiety and a crippling need for affection. Now she began to wonder if she had been right about her feelings being unnatural.

“Hey, what's wrong?” Anna had made her way over to her, instantly seeing her sisters fretful expression. She sat crossed legged next to her, a deep crease on her forehead.

“Do you remember Rea?” Elsa asked hopefully.

“Rea? The servant girl? Yeah, why?” She replied, the frown deepening further in confusion. 

“What did you think of her?” 

“She was nice? I don’t really remember a lot about her to be honest. I know mother asked her to keep an eye on you, so she didn’t really spend much time around me.”

“Mother asked her to keep an eye on me? Why would she do that?” Elsa sat up properly, feeling her frustration rising.

“She thought you might get along with her so she asked her to talk to you if the chance arose. What's this about Elsa?”

“It’s nothing, I just remembered something about her and wasn’t sure if I was making it up.” She waved a hand in front of her, signalling the end of the conversation. She was growing frustrated with herself for letting these doubts go as far as they had. Rea was old news, and it was pointless to think about her again now. As for Maren, Elsa didn’t know what to think, but she knew it couldn’t be what she had been suggesting.

They returned back to the village shortly after that, Anna and Kristoff whispering about her sudden attitude change as they walked. The warm air had begun to chill once again, the clouds above them darkening with the hint of coming rain. Ryder jogged up to Kristoff and Sven as soon as they got back, and the three jumped off in the direction of the Northuldra reindeer, waving at the girls merrily in invitation. Olaf trotted behind them, throwing him arms open widely as he struggled to keep up. Anna nudged Elsa, the movement subtle. Her ability to communicate without words had never been fantastic, but becoming queen had given Anna a quick lesson in the art. She tipped her head a fraction in the direction of the others, before flicking her eyes up and down over the girls tense body. The question was obvious to Elsa -  _ Do you want to follow or are you going to sulk instead? _

She rolled her eyes -  _ I’m not sulking. _

Anna slowly lifted both brows, pursing her lips. The expression reminded her of her the way her mother used to look at her father when they disagreed on something, and she found herself struck silent. 

“Being a Queen suits you, you know?” She grumbled in fake annoyance, grinning as she looked at her sister. Anna laughed and they walked over to the boys, Elsa faltering for a second when a familiar voice made its way over to them from within the throng of reindeer. Marens hat poked up from behind one of the animals, her braid a mess and her face covered in dirt. Now that Elsa thought about it, Ryder had looked in a similar fashion too. 

“What on earth are you up to?” Anna questioned as they reached them, scruffing a tuft of fur on top of Svens head. 

“We were racing reindeer earlier and this little guy had an accident.” Ryder gestured towards the young reindeer laid on the floor next to Kristoff. Olaf was patting its head, mumbling how he was “such a good boy”. Maren came to stand next to them, glancing at Elsa before choosing to stand next to Anna instead, which didn’t go unnoticed by Anna or Ryder.

“He fell over and hurt his leg. We had to carry him back.” He explained, turning to Kristoff to ask him about how best to treat the wound, having quickly realised the modern medicine was so much more effective. 

“Unfortunately he was also a little muddy.” Maren followed up with, waving her filthy arms out in explanation. Her thick sleeves had been turned up as best as they could be, drawing Elsa's gaze to her skin. Maren caught her eye and smiled lightly, a friendly gesture. Elsa felt her breath catch, and looked at the floor. Anger grew in her chest; just because her heart was beating too fast didn’t mean she had to lose her composure completely. With a deep inhale she bravely met Marens inquisitive eyes, holding the stare until Anna gained Marens attention again.

  
  


***

On the last evening of Annas stay, the group sat around the campfire, telling grand stories of adventures each of them had been on. Yelana was telling a marvellous tale about her grandfather, who had journeyed across some of the most treacherous lands in search of some famous artefact. Anna and Olaf were enthralled, both sat cross legged on the floor, huddled under a blanket to keep warm. 

“Did he actually find it?!” Anna asked, and the children nearby who were listening as well nodded enthusiastically at her question, begging to know the answer. Yelana laughed. She had gained a large audience for her tale, a telling sign of the respect she held in the community.

“No, he didn’t. In the end he came home with a lover and a child. Never went on another journey again.” The children moaned in annoyance, but Anna looked positively tearful. 

“That’s so beautiful! To come home with a wife and child and give up all of that for them!” She flopped against Kristoff, who jumped at the action, but smiled dorkily at her. 

Elsa raised an eyebrow at them both, wondering how a single romantic tale could so quickly return her to the state of a child.

“A husband actually, but yes, it is rather a charming ending isn’t it.” Anna and Elsa both froze, staring at Yelana. 

“Husband?” Anna asked. Elsa stayed perfectly still, noticing Honeymaren and Ryder giving them an odd look from the other side of the fire. Arendelle had no laws against relationships of the same gender, but it was not discussed. Most people tended to ignore any interactions they witnessed, and those who engaged in it kept it relatively hidden. 

“Yes, husband.” Yelana stated, seeming unaware of the intention behind the question. Anna blinked, and looked at the uncaring people around them, frowning. 

“I’m sorry, but… is that normal here?” She queried. 

Yelana looked up at Anna, now paying more attention. The question had garnered the attention of many others around the fire, and Elsa felt her heart rate pick up, the attention on this particular subject making her increasingly uncomfortable. She hunched in on herself, suddenly finding a leaf in front of her very interesting. She picked it up, twirling it between her fingers. No matter how hard she denied her feelings being romantic towards Maren, she could not deny that she was at least mildly attracted to the Northuldra woman. 

“You mean two men marrying? Or two men being together at all?” One of the men sat next to Yelana asked politely.

“Either?” Anna seemed openly shocked, the concept so foreign to her. 

Elsa felt ice start to cover her hands as she flicked her eyes to Ryder and Honeymaren under her eyelashes, catching them both frowning deeply, whispering between each other. 

“Wait, is it not normal in Arendelle?” Kristoff asked. He had finally tuned into the conversation, and appeared confused at Anna’s line of questioning.

“No!” She replied, incredulously.

Elsa’s vision began to swim. She looked up at Anna, and swallowed thickly, wishing she would change the topic. Out of the corner of her eye she could still see Honeymaren and Ryder, looking at her with a sickeningly knowing look. 

“Surely It doesn’t matter who someone likes? Having a problem with it is a bit close-minded.” He started, slamming his mouth shut when he was shot a look of death from his lover. 

“Close minded?” 

“No! I mean- well yes, but-” he tried to salvage his choice of words, but it fell on deaf ears. 

“Anna,” Yelana began, “I understand that your people have a different way of doing things, but here it is seen as completely natural for anyone to love whoever they decide.” Her expression remained calm, but her voice sounded disappointed. 

Anna stayed quiet after that, letting the conversation stray onto other subjects, before saying her goodnights and dragging Kristoff to bed. With her sister gone, Elsa let out a sigh of relief. She could accept she might be abnormal in her instinctual attractions, but the idea of Anna finding out about it was a thought she didn’t want to entertain. 

“Elsa?” Yelana called to her quietly, so as not to cause a scene. Her voice was soothing, but it sounded so knowing that Elsa's panic only began to rise, the frozen leaf in her hand shattering. 

“Elsa…” Honeymaren spoke her name softly, and Elsa was drawn to the caring call. Chaotic as her mind was in that moment, she knew it was a bad idea to let anymore doubts inside, but as she glanced over Marens soft features, and heard her silken voice call to her, she found her body craving a closeness that was reserved only for Anna. The desire hit her full force, knocking the breath out of her. She pushed herself up, features shifting between a myriad of emotions as she caught the wise look Yelana shot in her direction. She turned on her heel, fleeing into the cold evening air.

“Wait!” Honeymaren jumped after her, jogging to keep up with her hurried footsteps until they were away from the crowd. They wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, the light from the fire growing distant. Eventually Elsa came to a stop, causing Honeymaren to almost walk straight into her. 

“This needs to stop Maren!” Elsa pleaded with her, arms folded tightly as she noticed with a dismayed frown that the leaves around them were growing pale, the air growing icy.

“You can’t just run from your feelings Elsa, it’s clear that you’re struggling with this. Let me help.” 

“Help?!” Elsa scoffed. “You’re making everything worse Maren! I’m  _ trying _ to fix this but you won’t let me!” Her voice rose higher than she intended, cracking slightly, and she quickly cast a glance around. 

“Fix it? What…” She let out a breath of desperation, trying to understand the cold response to her affections. Elsa brought a hand to her face, wiping angrily at the tears that were starting to fall. A few droplets escaped, rolling down her cheeks and collecting on her chin. “Elsa…” Honeymaren whispered dismally, throwing caution to the wind as she closed the distance to gather the taller girl in her arms. She squeezed with enough force to keep her from pushing away, but not enough to make her feel trapped. After a couple of seconds sobs began to wrack Elsa's body as she pressed her face into Marens shoulder. 

Unsure of what to do next, Honeymaren stayed still, holding the girl for a few minutes until the wet patch on her shoulder stopped growing, and Elsa's breathing sounded less laboured. Maren felt rain starting to land on her, shivering slightly. She pulled away slightly, keeping close. 

“Come on, it's starting to rain.” She took Elsa's hand and walked back towards the tribe. Considering their position it was closer to head to her own hut, and she didn’t want people to see Elsa in the state she was in by making her walk past everyone. Elsa didn't make a sound as they walked there, her resolve to fight what was happening seeming to have broken. As they reached the door, she let go of Elsa's hand, and was surprised when she slipped inside without pausing. The rain had picked up, and both of their clothes had gotten damp on their journey back. She took her hat off, and let down her braid, shaking it fully free. She paused for a second, looking over at Elsa, before unclipping her belt and bending over to pull of the wet tunic, leaving her in a navy shirt and trousers.

While Elsa stood dejectedly in the centre of the small room, Maren walked over to the pile of furs where she slept, picking up a blanket before joining her and slipping it around Elsa's shoulders. She smiled as Elsa reached up to grasp the edges and pull the blanket closer around her. There was a sad sniff, but no more tears fell. Both women were quiet as they stood, Elsa's gaze trained on a spot on the floor, her mind elsewhere. 

“What are you thinking about?” Maren asked deathly quiet, scared to break the silence. Elsa seemed to consider an answer, and Maren felt her heartbeat quicken. A few seconds passed, and she watched Elsa open and close her mouth a few times as a variety of expressions worked on her face. Eventually Elsa frowned, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Elsa?” She asked, as carefully as ever, and Elsa found herself sighing. 

“I need you to show me.” She asked quickly, eyes still tightly closed as the words fell out of her mouth. Her usual confidence had dissipated long ago, and her voice cracked as she spoke.

“Show you? Show you what?” Honeymaren tried to catch her eye, but Elsa refused to look up. 

“I-” Elsa found the words caught in her throat. Her brows twitched, frustrated. “I need to know if I’m...” She breathed out, the almost inaudible sentence left unfinished. She raised a hand and placed it feather light on Honeymarens chest, feeling once again as the Northuldra breathing began to get unsteady under her touch. Fighting against her feelings was getting Elsa nowhere, and now that she couldn’t deny how much deeper they ran anymore, she needed to know for sure. At least then she could work on figuring out what to do about them. 

Honeymaren lifted a hand to place it under her chin, lifting her face so their eyes met. She was searching for something in her face, some kind of confirmation. It was the same look she had given her the first night by the fire, and Elsa felt her hand tingle at the memory. 

“Are you sure that's a good idea right now?” Maren began, once again showing how much she cared for her. Her thumb stroked feather light across the pale skin, and Elsa shivered, exhaling heavily.

Honeymaren glanced down at Elsa's lips momentarily, the question still lingering in the air. Elsa took a second to honestly consider the question, before looking straight into the hazel eyes and nodding once. The movement was so fractional that she wasn’t sure Maren had even noticed, but the girls sharp intake of breath let her know she had.

Honeymaren shifted her head forward, the movement slow as if holding a hand out to a wild animal. When she was an inch or two away from Elsas lips she paused, exhaling. Warm air hit Elsas lips and she gasped, her body jumping at the feeling and causing the girls noses to brush. The hand she had on Honeymarens chest twitched and she slammed her eyes closed once more in fear. 

“Breathe, Elsa.” 

She took a shaky breath and tried to settle the trembling of her hands. After a couple of slow breaths she felt Honeymaren run a finger across her lower lip, leaving a trail of burning skin in its wake. Both women could feel the uncertainty in the air around them, both desperately wanting to close the distance, and terrified of what might happen after. 

A moment later a soft pair of lips pressed against Elsas, and her hand immediately gripped tightly into the fabric of Honeymarens shirt, a soft whimper slipping out. Neither moved for a few seconds, until Marens free hand slipped automatically to Elsa's waist as she pressed more firmly against her lips. The cloth under Elsa's hand began to freeze, as she let herself press back into the delicate kiss, mind momentarily silenced. A second passed and honeymaren softly shifted her lips against Elsas, opening them slightly before pressing back again. Elsa copied the movement when she did it again, her grip softening slightly. 

Sighing as she sank into the kiss, Honeymaren slipped the hand on Elsa's cheek into her hair, pulling her face against her properly. She ran her tongue over Elsa's bottom lip and felt the other woman gasp sharply. The hand on her chest suddenly squeezed shut and shot forward, effectively pushing her away. She immediately let go of Elsa, holding her hands out in front of her in a peace gesture, chest heaving. 

“You’re okay.” She began calmly, reaching up to rub a thumb over the icy hand still on her chest. The panic on Elsa's face slipped away, as a cold shame set its roots inside of her. Maren watched as the woman closed herself off, yanking her hand away. She let the blanket fall to the floor as a mortified exhale escaped her in a rush. 

“Elsa, dont-” Maren tried to reach out to her, but she turned and fled in an instant. Maren twirled around in frustration, but stopped as she took in the space around her; it was covered in frost, the cloth roof lined with tiny glistening icicles. She grabbed the blanket and sat down on the pile of furs, a violent shiver rippling through her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this at the same time as chapter one just to up the initial word count but i'll wait a day before the next chapter so I have time to work on more of it before I do a typical me thing and post it all in one go.
> 
> See ya next time


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The moment she was far enough away from Maren, Elsa summoned Nokk, climbing onto the spirit horse and speeding off to the distance. As soon as she breached the treeline she jumped from the frozen steed, running at full speed onto the sand while shooting blasts of ice in front of her. The jets of magic swirled dangerously in the air, her unsettled emotions rippling within them. Nokk ran alongside her, the ice created within it melting as it galloped into the water, eyes glowing.

_Why is all of this happening now?_

She flicked her wrist to fling a wave of ice over the top of the water, the long strip glittering. The rain was much heavier now, having already soaked her through, and the wind was picking up rapidly. Water pooled around her feet as she quickly froze the on coming droplets of rain, running onto the smooth surface she had created, sliding down its length while casting out random blasts of magic in every direction. 

_I don’t want to be like this._

She came sharply to a stop when a wave crashed over the top of her icy platform. Her foot slipped from under her and she came crashing down, the thin ice cracking under the force and plunging her into the water. It took her a few seconds to calm the immediate panic of being underwater before her arms flew out, pushing upwards to try and bring her to the surface, but the pressure from the violent waves kept her under. They spun her around, pulling her out and down into the dark depths. Nokk’s electric blue eyes appeared in front of her and she reached out, but the horse didn’t come to form. It moved up toward the surface, beckoning her. Part of her became keenly aware of how out of control her magic felt, but her mind felt like a black hole of fear, and nothing seemed to help. She closed her eyes as her chest began to burn. Once again she had lost control of herself. 

With a flick of her wrist she tried to send a pulse of ice under her, to expand the water and help push her upwards, but the magic wasn’t concentrated, and instead started to freeze spots of the waves around her, adding a crushing pressure to her already screaming lungs.

 _I can’t control my powers._ She thought to herself, the fear doubling as the realisation hit.

Her body begged her for air as it was hurled around in the waves, and she pushed herself up with the most force she could manage, only just managing to form a thin platform of ice on the water's surface to grip onto, as she had done once before. Finally breaching the surface and grabbing onto the ice she saw Nokk waiting for her, standing above the waterline with its eyes staring deep into her. The water horse watched her silently, a fretful curiosity plain as day on its liquid features, before sinking back into the water, a gentle wave forming under the ice to push it to the surface. 

She fell to the floor when Nokk had guided her safely ashore, silent tears freezing as they hit the icy sand under her. Honeymaren had awoken a part of her she had kept hidden for years, and now that it was out of its cage Elsa couldn’t control it. There was no way to lock it away again, and with her powers running amok she knew she was a danger once again to the people around her.

***

Over a week had passed since Elsa had returned with Anna to Arendelle, and she was miserable. Most of the time she kept busy helping Anna with her queenly duties, and though she was happy to be able to be useful, she found herself staring wistfully out across Arendelle and longing to be back in the forest again. Anna had been concerned when she had shown up outside her yurt that morning, looking rather worse for wear and claiming to want to come home with her, but she had welcomed her with open arms, and a much needed dry coat. Obviously she had pressed for a reason on more than one occasion, but she had simply told her she missed her too much to live away. Much to Elsa's frustration Anna always responded by giving her a suspicious look, never seeming to take her words at face value. 

Knowing she did indeed have feelings for another woman hadn’t helped to ease her mind as she had hoped it might have done. Accepting her feelings was one thing, whether she was comfortable with them or not, but choosing whether or not to do anything about them was another entirely. She couldn’t pretend to be interested in men, but she could make an effort to pretend she _wasn’t_ interested in women. She knew she wouldn’t be happy staying here forever, but whenever Maren looked at her she felt her control slip, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen again. Kissing the Northuldran had made her feel sensations she had never experienced before. The soft fluttering she could manage, but the deep warmth that flooded every inch of her with a breathtaking need for more was something she wasn’t sure she could resist giving in to. 

The last time she had felt that out of control she had almost killed her own sister, and the idea that she could do the same to the Northulda scared her the most. Though as soon as she had returned to Arendelle her powers had settled back to how they were before, she couldn’t help but remember how it had felt to be unable to focus them. Who knows what could have happened if Nokk hadn’t helped her; or worse, if the same thing had happened with other people around. 

Looking out over the kingdom from the small balcony, she imagined having to face Maren every day with the memory of that kiss, and the fear of her powers not obeying her commands, and sighed. The week away had given her time to calm down, and she did feel much better for it, but she was still at a loss as to what to do.

“There’s that dramatic sighing again.” Kristoff commented from the sofa behind her. The two had taken a while to become fully comfortable being alone together after they first met, but as the years had passed Elsa had found Kristoff a calming influence. His personality was a pleasant combination of being care-free and fun-loving, while being reserved and introspective. 

“You miss it there don't you?” He grasped his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees. Elsa turned to look at him, keeping one hand resting lightly on the balcony fence. 

“Of course.” She responded truthfully.

“Elsa,” he began, pausing for a moment, the crackling fire the only sound. “You coming back… did something happen?” He had avoided asking questions until now, not wanting to sound like he had been sent by Anna, but the idea had been eating at him for the past week. He studied Elsa's reaction, noticing her grip tighten on the metal, but her expression remained a schooled neutral. 

“Kristoff, I’ve told Anna already that-”

“Anna didn’t ask me to talk to you Elsa. But _Ryder_ spoke to me while we were up there.” A sharp huff sounded from Elsa, and she let go of her tight grip. 

“Of course he did. Pray tell, what did he say.” She could only imagine what Maren had told Ryder about her, and of course Ryder would have reported straight to Kristoff. This was just giving her proof that returning to Northuldra was a bad idea. 

“Nothing really, but he was asking if I knew why you and Honeymaren had been tense. I said I didn’t know, and then he asked if you had ever dated anyone before. At first I thought he was asking for himself, but then there was that conversation between Yelana and Anna, and then you showed up back here, and I just wondered…” He took a breath, trying to stop from babbling. 

“You wondered what Kristoff?” She asked, her voice a mask of annoyance. She wanted to come to terms with her emotions privately without being forced into anything, but yet again her secrets were being outed before she had a chance to figure it out herself.

“Are you and Maren a thing?” He stated bluntly, staring at her intently. Elsa ground her teeth together, eyes cold. 

“No Kristoff. Maren and I are not a _thing_. And neither are Ryder and I. Personally I find your prodding into this matter to be highly inappropriate. Especially considering the subject...” 

“The subject? Is this about what Anna said while we were there?” He continued, standing up. She took a step forward, squaring up to him. 

“Relationships of that nature are not discussed here. You would be wise to adhere to that, or you will lose the respect of the people, and as future Prince you must consider your standing.” The words fell naturally from her lips, even though they sent a stab of pain through her chest, but she regretted them almost instantly when Kristoff blinked rapidly, shocked. They stared each other down, Elsa expecting him to heed her words and back off, but he stood his ground. 

“You’re wrong.” He stated firmly.

“Excuse me?” She had not expected him to fight her on this.

“I said you’re wrong, Elsa.” 

“W-well tell that to Anna, because-” she was stopped as his voice cut her off.

“I did. She agreed.” His words effectively shut Elsa up. 

“What?” It came out much quieter then she had imagined it in her head. Her gaze flicked across his face, searching for any sign of a lie. He sighed, sensing her backing down from the argument.

“After the talk at the campfire I asked Anna why she felt the way she did. She couldn’t give me a proper reason, and I explained why she was wrong. It took less than ten minutes to change her mind. One of my best records to be honest.” He grinned down at her. 

Elsa broke the eye contact, looking at the floor, a frown working its way onto her face. 

“But Its not…” She found herself unable to finish the sentence, wrapping her arms around herself. 

“A wise reindeer once told me: `you feel what you feel and your feelings are real`.” He said, earning a grimace from Elsa. “Yeah, I know, it sounded better at the time.” He looked away, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. “But the idea is still good. So you know, if you _did_ like Honeymaren, then it would be okay.” His boldness had melted away as quickly as it had taken over, leaving Elsa reeling. Her mouth opened and closed once, and she blinked a few times before turning around and walking back over to the balcony, leaning heavily on it with both arms. Kristoff followed her movements with his eyes, unsure of what else to say. 

“I can’t decide that it’s okay just like that Kristoff.” She said, feeling her heart flutter. Hope blossomed in her chest, but the suddenness at which her beliefs had been ripped out from under her was confusing. Considering how quickly Anna had accepted her magical powers she wondered if she should even be surprised, but Elsa was different to Anna. She had spent years thinking she was dangerous, and the constant fear of rejection still left a dark stain on her heart.

“Nothing you do will ever make Anna care any less about you, Elsa. She’s always going to love you.” Kristoff, offered. She tried to imagine herself being accepted by everyone after admitting to them how she felt, but the idea felt foreign. 

“It’s too dangerous,” she found herself admitting in a whisper. “I’m losing control of myself.” 

“What do you mean?” He took a step forward, trying to catch her breathy words.

“I lost control. I can’t let that happen again or i’ll hurt someone just like I hurt Anna. Even if you _are_ right, I can’t let myself have feelings for anyone or i’ll become dangerous again.” She turned around, blue eyes wet as she looked up into his own brown ones. His shoulders were slack as he listened carefully, wishing he could say something to make it better.

“I won’t lose what I've worked so hard for.” She finished.

There was a sound outside the door and Elsa froze, dropping her voice to a whisper. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring up this conversation with Anna.” 

Kristoff looked at her sadly, nodding. Elsa let out a deep breath, pushing back a bang that had fallen into her face. She was exhausted from constantly fighting with her own emotions. On one hand, she was glad that Anna wouldn’t hate her if she found out about her questionable desires, but on the other, the idea of telling her still made her feel sick. The door opened and Olaf bounded in, followed by Anna, who was mumbling something to herself. Elsa was glad that she seemed to miss how cold the air had grown in the room. 

***

  
  


Honeymaren was laid on the dirt, staring up at the sky. She hadn’t bothered to braid her hair, letting it splay around her, collecting dirt. Bruni padded over her chest, his flame thankfully not lit. The past week and a half everyone in her tribe had been giving her funny looks. It had been relatively obvious that Elsa and herself had disagreed on something before she ran off, and many people seemed to blame her for the ice spirits disappearance. Ryder was the only one who knew the true story, though Yelana also gave her a sad smile whenever they caught eyes. 

The sky was a pale grey above her, the clouds swirling around each other. In the distance she could see they were growing darker, and she wondered if it would snow. The thought of her home being covered in snow again made her mind float back to Elsa, lingering on a memory of her face lit up with laughter as Bruni extinguished himself in a small pile of snow she had created for him. She always looked so beautiful when she smiled, and Maren couldn’t help but miss it. 

“Do _you_ think she’ll come back?” She asked Bruni, who jumped onto her forehead, looking down at her with a gurgle. He sat down and licked his eye, his dopey expression softening hers. “What does it matter anyway huh, we have you.” He opened his mouth and wiggled his little tail, tickling her hairline. 

Honeymaren had known she would fall for Elsa the moment she laid eyes on her. Well, after having decided the talking snowman wasn’t evil at least. She had looked so awkward and sweet, and Maren had found herself instantly enthralled. When Elsa had taken her hair down she swore her heart had tried to beat out of her chest. She had not made a conscious effort to flirt with the girl, but nor had she tried overly to hide her attraction. It had taken Elsa a while to notice, but when she had things had seemed to spin out of control too fast for Maren to handle. Now she wished she had tried a little harder to be discreet. 

A single snowflake fell from above, surprising her, before landing on her nose. Bruni looked at it, and then up at the sky with an odd look on his face. The clouds seemed to feel how Maren’s heart longed for Elsa, gifting her with as much as they could.

“I wish I could bring her back.” She whispered. 

Everything went still.

Suddenly a gust of wind whipped at her, blowing her hair across her face, and knocking Bruni to the ground.

“Woah!” She sat up, looking at the fire spirit. He looked around excitedly, before bursting into flame, and running at her. She yelped, pushing away and scrambling across the floor away from him. The wind whipped under her, pushing her to her feet. 

“Gale?” She called out, more than a little scared. The floor began to ripple, causing her to tumble forward towards the forest. 

“What’s happening?” Bruni bounced over to her, looking at her and then pointedly to the sky. Another snowflake fell from the sky, and she reached out to let it land on her hand. She brought it closer, staring at the intricate pattern. Bruni bounced around her, flame still lit. 

“Elsa?” She queried, and the wind gust circled her, caressing her skin. “You want me to bring her back?” she asked, unsure of herself. The ground vibrated, and Bruni sprinted off into the woods as the wind spirit shoved once pointedly in the same direction. Maren knew better than to question the spirits, and with a deep, steadying breath, she raced after Bruni and into the forest. 

Her reindeer was waiting for her just past the trees, and she jumped on her, waiting for a moment to allow Bruni to clamber up a tree and onto her shoulder. She had grown fond of the tiny salamander over the past month, and in Elsa’s absence, the little guy had taken to following her around instead. He stuck his tongue out and gurgled as they galloped back to the tribe, making her laugh despite her anxiety. The sound of hooves filled her ears, and she shot a look over her shoulder, shocked to see an entourage of reindeer following close behind her. She raised her eyebrows looking back to the path ahead. 

People moved away in concern as she entered the village on her mount, the reindeer coming to a stop around the outskirts. Ryder ran over, immediately concerned by the unusual atmosphere surrounding his sister.

“Maren! What’s going on? Why do you have an army of reindeer?” He rushed to ask, Yelana swiftly coming up behind him, giving a wide eyed look at the animals behind her. 

“I’m not entirely sure, the spirits seem to be talking to me…” On cue, Gale whipped around her, whipping her in the face with her own hair, and Bruni jumped off of her and into the fire, causing it to burst with extra energy and flash a pink colour. She was thankful that the earth or water spirits didn’t feel the need to join in, lest they cause an earthquake or a flood to prove a point. 

“What are they asking of you?” Yelana asked, looking at her curiously. 

She felt a pang of longing and hope in her chest at the concept of what the spirits were asking her to do.

“They want me to bring Elsa back.” She whispered softly, looking at her brother with worry written across her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented so far, I was really shocked by all the great responses. I'm really enjoying writing this so i'm glad people are enjoying reading it too. :)
> 
> I want a pet Bruni.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Elsa had been tossing potential speeches back and forth in her mind for the two days since her conversation with Kristoff. His words had been repeating in her head over and over, and no matter how hard she tried to tell herself that keeping her feelings a secret was the safest option, she had learnt her lesson about trying to hide anything from Anna if she could help it. Though she had been flip flopping heavily between deciding to tell her or not, she realised within a day that the decision had already been made for her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Ryder obviously had his suspicions if Maren hadn’t already told him everything, Kristoff had worked it out, and Yelena seemed pretty knowing too. Plus, Anna was still suspicious of her for coming back to the castle. It was only so long before she found out, and if she was going to react badly, Elsa would rather she was at least in control of the situation a little bit; an angry Anna was not something she liked having to deal with. 

Aside from the obvious conversation to be had about her attraction to women, Elsa desperately wanted her sister to help her regain a sense of control over her powers. She wasn’t a romantic like Anna, so she wasn’t massively put out by the idea of not finding `true love`, but it hurt her that having so much as a crush on someone could leave her in such a perilous state. 

She paced back and forth, avoiding the knowing stare of the teddy she had sat at the end of her bed as a fake Anna. 

“Anna,” she began, “I know I've been acting strangely the past two weeks. It’s because…” She looked at the teddy bear, face pinched in awkwardness, her words feeling too formal. 

“I like women.” She grimaced, “No that just sounds so… weird.” She took a breath, trying to relax herself. “I have… feelings? For Honeymaren…. Maren?... I have romantic feelings for Maren. I think. No, I  _ know… _ I know it probably seems strange to you, but I think I might have always been this way… Does that sound bad?” She asked the teddy, hoping it would give her any kind of response. She wrung her hands together in front of her, her loose hair draping over her tense shoulders.

“I think it sounds bad. Okay hang on.” She took a steadying breath, and resumed pacing. “Anna, I need to tell you something important, but I’m not sure how you’ll respond… I’m sure you’ve noticed that I've never been comfortable with the idea of marrying. Well… that’s because it would be to a man.” She dipped her head in a sideways nod, standing still. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she was still in her dressing gown, or that she was talking to a teddy bear, but she felt incredibly childish. 

Other than the air around her growing a few degrees cooler, Elsa found that she was getting better at not freezing everything whenever she thought about Honeymaren, much to her delight. How she would fair having this conversation for real, or the next time she saw the girl in question in person she didn’t know, but this seemed like a good start. 

Picking up the teddy bear, she bit her lip anxiously, picking at a fraying piece of fabric by the bears ear. She had practised this speech several times over by now, and knew she was just going to have to take the plunge sooner or later. She was trying her best to be logical with her decision making, to achieve the best end result, but the overwhelming problem she was facing was that she still wasn’t  _ completely _ comfortable admitting she was into women. What was the point of gaining Annas acceptance if she couldn’t even accept herself. It wasn’t because she herself disapproved of the idea, she was more than comfortable around Olken, even if everyone tended to pretend his partner was just his very close friend. But having that label applied to her… It made her skin crawl. Add to that the fear that Anna wouldn’t trust her as much if she thought Elsa was losing control of her powers, and she found herself in a spiral of feeling intensely sick. 

She dressed herself slowly, wasting as much time as she could braiding her hair and applying make up, to avoid having to face Anna for as long as she could. But there was only so long she could brush and tie her hair before she ran out of avoidance tactics. The sky was more than bright, suggesting she had probably already missed breakfast. She heard a quiet grumble as her stomach complained at the knowledge, but she felt too queasy to think about food.

The walk downstairs took her much longer than it needed to, but every time she thought over the speeches in her head her stomach dropped and she had to take a moment to convince herself to continue. Soft voices flowed down the hallway when she got close to the library, signalling to her that Anna and Kristoff were inside. A throaty chuckle joined the voices that she recognised as Olaf. It would be easier to talk to Anna without the excitable snowman barging in every few seconds, but she knew if she backed out now she might not get up the courage again. 

Her hands trembled as she pushed open the door, two hand prints of ice forming under her skin. She took a breath, reigning in her powers as much as she could. 

“Elsa!” Anna’s bright smile softened her a little, and the red headed girl hugged her in their usual morning routine. 

“Good morning.” She looked up to Kristoff, nodding a greeting at him, which he returned with a happy wave. They had all been sitting around the large table in the centre of the library, pouring over a book of some description. “What are you guys up to?”

“I was showing Anna this book on animals!” Olaf told her excitedly. “Did you know Crows can recognise human faces?” 

Elsa raised an eyebrow and cast a glance at Anna, who shrugged. 

“You missed breakfast, did you sleep in late or something?” She asked suspiciously. 

“Um, something like that. Actually I- I wanted to…” She choked on the words, throat suddenly dry. 

“What’s wrong with Elsa?” Olaf asked Kristoff after a few seconds of silence, who had sat up straighter in his chair, attention set on the old queen. 

“Elsa?” Anna asked, worry spreading across her face. 

The room felt far to large all of a sudden, and yet the three faces staring at her felt oppressing. Elsa looked at Kristoff, and the two exchanged silent communication. He stood up, picking up the book on the table and waving it in front of Olaf. 

“Hey Olaf, I reckon Sven would love you to tell him some facts about reindeer.” He said, a smirk pulling at his mouth. Olaf gasped, jumping up at the idea.

“Oh! I know some great facts about reindeer! Did you know their hooves shrink in summer?” He continued to spout useless facts as he ran out the door to find Sven, Kristoff close behind him. Before closing the door, he looked over his shoulder at the two women and smiled, a supportive gesture. 

“Elsa, what’s going on?” She was looking at the door in confusion, not seeming to understand why Kristoff had suddenly decided to leave. Elsa swallowed hard, her heart beating in her ears as the urge to vomit swirled around in her throat. Anna turned to look at her, seeing the green look on the pale woman's face, and frowning. 

“I need to talk to you.” She got out after a moment of tense silence. The words were too high, and her posture gave away her intense anxiety. Anna gave her a serious look, and reached out to take one of Elsa's freezing hands.

“Okay, I’m listening.” She smiled sweetly, and Elsa felt herself relax a little, squeezing Anna’s hand. She let Elsa take a few deep breaths, counting to ten in her head, before slowing forming the words she had practised so carefully.

“Anna, I know I've been a bit strange the past two weeks. Well, its becau-” The door to the library swung open suddenly, and Kristoff reappeared in the opening with a wide eyed expression and a heaving chest suggesting he had run back to them. Both women frowned, unsure what to make of the man’s quick return. 

“Honeymaren and Ryder are here.” He said, giving Elsa an apologetic look as he tried to judge how much of the conversation had passed already in the minute or two he had been gone. 

“What?” Elsa's voice cracked when she spoke, and a ring of frost started to form under her feet. A cold sweat spread over her, knowing she was not in enough control yet to have to deal with a face to face interaction. 

***

The three of them headed outside quickly, Anna seeming even more confused than before, but letting the conversation go temporarily. She kept a hold of Elsa's hand as they walked, her small way of maintaining the support she was waiting to give. Kristoff seemed unsure of what to say to her now that it was clear that he knew something his fiance didn’t. Elsa on the other hand, was a perfect mix of nerves and anger. She had finally plucked up the courage to talk to Anna, and once again Maren had to show up and before she was ready. She didn’t have a clue what she would say to the younger woman, but it was taking enough of her energy trying not to freeze the hallway behind her in front of Anna, so figuring out a sensible way to engage her would have to wait. 

What none of them were expecting when they walked past the grand castle doors was an army of reindeer. They simultaneously opened their mouths in shock, unable to take in the extraordinary sight. Around twenty reindeer were gathered in the courtyard, Ryder and Honeymaren sat atop the two at the front. They both looked suitably tired, and considering the hour, and how long it took to ride from Northuldra to Arendelle, it was clear they had probably been riding for most, if not all, of the night. 

Elsa looked over Maren, her thick brown hair tied back in a scruffy braid, suggesting she hadn’t had much time to prepare before setting off. There was a moment of worry that maybe something bad had happened in Northuldra, and the three of them hurried out to greet them, Elsa swallowing down any frustration she had. 

“Ryder, Maren, what are you doing here? Did something happen in Northuldra?” Anna asked, having picked up on the same cues as her sister. 

“Your majesty,” Maren started, dismounting quickly. Ryder followed suit, looking around, overwhelmed. They had both visited Arendelle briefly, but this was both of their first times up close to the castle. “Nothing is wrong… not technically anyway. I’m afraid I need to speak with your sister. If she’ll allow me.” She looked to Elsa, who for her part did a spectacular impression of a statue. 

“What’s with all the reindeer?” Kristoff questioned quickly, already happily petting one of them, a boyish grin on his face. Elsa was glad for his question, as it diverted attention away from her before she lost control of the magic pounding in time with her heartbeat.

Ryder shrugged, his eyes drooping when he lent heavily against his reindeer. 

“The wind told them to follow us or something.” He said sleepily, making everyone look at him in confusion, including the nearby guards, who were rubbing their heads in confusion about what to do with the sudden entourage of wild animals. Maren brought her hand to her forehead, sighing. 

“It’s a bit of a long story. But your spirit friends have a lot of grovelling to do.” She explained grumpily. 

_ The spirits?  _ She wondered. None of it made any sense to Elsa, and it was clear that Maren wasn’t going to give her a proper answer while so many people were around. The confusion focused her, the need to understand winning out over her nerves. 

Anna began to question the two again, but Elsa had decided enough was enough. She grabbed Marens arm and dragged her to the side, away from prying ears, heart thudding brutally. The others watched them go, Anna crossing her arms and squinting questioningly at Kristoff, who turned back to the reindeer in fear.

“What on Earth do you think you’re doing?!” Elsa whispered angrily, the frustration seeping through in her tone. 

“Look, I didn’t plan on this any more than you did. Gale and Bruni literally chased me out of the village to come and talk to you. Take it up with them if you have a problem with it.” Her sleep deprivation was evident in her annoyance; usually Maren was better than most at staying calm. 

“I don’t know what you intend to achieve by coming here, but if you think i’m just going to… I don't know... jump on a reindeer and ride off into the sunset with you, you are dead wrong.” 

“Oh,  _ trust me _ i’m well aware of that!” She grumbled back, looking away. There was a sadness behind the annoyance that Elsa didn’t want to acknowledge, so she nodded, backing away from the argument. 

“Okay good... We should head inside so you can get some rest, I think Ryder is about to pass out.” She said quietly, shoulders curling over fractionally as her anger gave way to the nerves once more. She was more than a little impressed she had navigated the situation without freezing a single thing, but she promised to wait until Maren was safely out of arm's reach before praising herself too highly. They walked promptly back to the others, both boys feigning ignorance while Anna watched the situation unfold carefully. 

“Can we find a room for them each to sleep in?” Elsa asked a guard when they returned, garnering a surprised look from her sister. 

“What happened to not liking people staying in the castle?” She whispered just loud enough for Elsa to hear. 

“If they don’t stay inside with us then they’ll just sleep outside with the reindeer… I doubt that would be appreciated by the guards very much.” She explained quietly, but the soft look she cast the exhausted Maren spoke more words of wanting to keep her close, despite her outward impression of annoyance. 

When the five of them entered the castle Ryder and Maren stopped dead in their tracks, waking up instantly. Ryder’s mouth hung open in amazement at the grandeur, entire body slack. He noticed the carved wooden pillars on the walls and walked carefully over to the closest one, an inquisitive hand reaching out to touch the intricate images worked into the richly stained wood. 

Maren twirled around, taking in the high ceilings and unlimited space. Her reaction was calmer than her brothers, but her shimmering eyes gave away the awe. She looked over to the queen, and ex-queen, with a conflicted expression, as if the title suddenly seemed to hit her. 

“Amazing!” Ryder spoke first. “And you thought our carvings were cool! Are there more of these?” 

“Oooooh yeah…loads.” Kristoff laughed, patting him on the shoulder. 

“Wooooah.” 

“I can see why you’d miss it here.” Honeymaren spoke softly, not looking at Elsa, though the words were clearly directed as her. Anna smiled, proud of the castle. She gave them a brief tour of the main rooms at Ryders insistence, enjoying the praise they gave each room. They circled back to show the siblings the library they had recently departed. 

Kristoff and Anna took Ryder over to the grand tapestry across the back wall, which the remaining two girls heard him swoon over. Honeymaren and Elsa stood in the doorway awkwardly. Maren huffed, the sound catching Elsa's attention. 

“When you said you liked to read I didn’t realise  _ this _ was what you meant.” She gestured to the huge bookcases filled to the brim with books of every shape and size. Choosing one at random, she walked over and picked up a book. There was a frown on her face as she stared down at the text on the front, which deepened when she opened the book to a page somewhere in the middle. 

Elsa came to stand next to her, and she tried to let herself relax. At the end of the day, she hoped her and Maren could remain friends, if nothing else; she missed their easy interaction. It had taken a lot of work to let her guard down enough to make what she classed as a true friend, and it hurt her deeply that she might lose that if she couldn’t keep herself under control, both magically and emotionally. She glanced at the blue cover, with gold picture work drawn on the front. It was a book she recognised immediately and smiled. 

“Peter Christen Asbjørnsen… He’s a great writer.” Elsa said lightly, hoping her friendly tone would soften the mood. Honeymarens frustration from before also seemed to have faded as quickly as it had come on, and she looked up to Elsa, interested. There was a slight squint to her eyes that betrayed a sadness about something.

“What does he write about?” She questioned.

“He writes tales of folklore and magical adventures. It’s quite charming.” She noticed the woman running her fingers over the text absentmindedly, tracing the pattern of the large `A` at the start of the chapter. “You can borrow it if you like?” 

Honeymaren, frowned again, her cheeks darkening. 

“We um, don’t write like you do… I can’t read this.” The last part came out as a whisper. Elsa had seen texts from the Northuldra, and had known they were written in a different alphabet to hers, but for some reason it had not hit her that that meant neither one could read the others' writings, even though they spoke the same words.

“Oh… I wonder if my mother had any Northuldra texts kept here. Maybe we can teach each other something...” She wondered.

Honeymaren placed the book carefully back on the shelf, smiling at the idea. Elsa felt the now familiar fluttering of her heart at the image. Marens hair was messy, but it gave the braided locks a life of their own, which Elsa found she quite liked. There was something about having Maren in the library, fingering the titles of the books she had spent years escaping into that made her crave even more. She wondered what Maren would look like wandering through the orchards.  _ She’d probably start climbing the apple trees _ , she thought with a muffled giggle. Her mind spiralled and Elsa found herself imagining how she would look sleeping soundly in her bed, that messy hair spread out around her on her pale purple pillows. 

Maren turned to look at her after hearing the quiet giggle, and Elsa realised she had been caught staring. Her cheeks flushed hotly when she realised where her mind had taken her and that Maren had noticed, and sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth, focusing on the pain of her teeth biting into the skin to avoid sending a shock of ice into the bookcase her hand rested against. One side of Marens mouth quirked up at the cute reaction, but her brows furrowed in confusion. 

Elsa had been worried how she would react to being around Maren again after the last time, but she seemed to be doing a decent job of keeping it together so far. Though she could feel her magic tingling dangerously around her fingertips, the air definitely a bit colder than it had been when they entered, she felt in control… mostly. That was until Maren tested her one step too far, her tiredness still getting in the way of her logical thinking. 

“You know, if you’re trying to convince me you’re not interested you’re not doing a very good job so far.” The comment was light hearted on the surface, but it was laced with sorrow. It was something the woman would have thought twice about saying on any normal occasion. 

“I-” The comment sent a flash of panic through her, and she gasped as she felt the magic she was trying to control slip out of her grasp, the area around them making a gentle crackling sound as a layer of frost slowly crawled over it. Elsa's eyes widened in fear, and she took a step back, her hip hitting one of their reading chairs and instantly freezing it. 

“Woah, hey…” Maren gently called to her, reaching out without getting too close, realising her mistake. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable… again.” Her arms lowered, defeated. 

Elsa took a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to melt away the ice before Anna realised what was happening or walked back over. She closed her eyes, but all she could feel was her racing heartbeat, the magic in her moving too quickly to get a grip on. 

“Come on…” She whispered, voice shaking slightly. 

It took a few seconds, but eventually she found a grasp on her powers, reigning them back in. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she opened her eyes to find the room back to normal. 

Maren was watching her carefully, and Elsa felt ashamed. She had thought things were going well, and yet… Anna and the others returned a few seconds later, but luckily no one noticed what had occurred, too wrapped up in an excited conversation about ice sculpting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Chapter 4 is up! Obviously this means the backlog is used up, and my week off of work is over so if the updates become slightly further apart I apologise. 
> 
> Wingedswordyunagi: Your `why are you running` comment made my fiancee and I laugh for a while XD
> 
> ElsaFowl: I'm 24F, seeing as you were curious. I wanted to try and get across the fact that its more of a homophobia based on ignorance that can swiftly be adjusted, so i'm glad you like that. Also I really liked the idea that Elsa's issues with her feelings would be a result of a spiral of many self doubts, rather than just a single concern, I thought it made it a bit more believable than just `gay panic that lasts forever`, so I'm happy you think that came across. 
> 
> Cherub: That's some high praise right there, I'm very glad you're enjoying it that much.
> 
> Everyone else: You've all been overwhelmingly positive, saying how much you love story elements or my writing in general, so thank you so much. I haven't posted a fanfition since I was about 16 so the response being so good has made me very happy. 
> 
> Until next time...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Elsa squirmed in discomfort as she opened the wooden drawers next to her bed. 

_ It’s only for a day or two _ … she told herself, a hand reaching down to run a finger over the fabric within. It hadn’t been a hard decision to make, not really. She couldn’t control what Maren did, and she had no idea what would set her off, so while she was around Elsa knew it was the safest thing to do. Not that knowing that made it any easier. 

Sighing, she picked up the gloves she had worn for years, the comfort they used to instil in her replaced with a dark disgust. As she slipped them on her stomach flipped nauseatingly. They felt wrong now. There was an urge to rip them off, but she fought against it, letting her arms fall to her sides. 

It felt like she had taken two steps forward, then six steps back. Maybe it was naive of her to have thought that accepting herself as the fifth spirit would make any difference to power powers. At the end of the day there was always going to be the potential that something could make her react unpredictably, hurting someone without meaning to. 

Ryder and Maren had been sleeping for the past couple of hours, and thankfully Anna had a meeting to attend, giving Elsa a reason to avoid finishing their conversation. She wasn’t sure anymore if talking to her sister was the right idea at all. Her fear of coming out to her was starting to fade, but the terror about admitting how out of control her powers were scared her even more than before. She hadn’t felt completely calm, but she hadn’t noticed just how close to losing it she had been. If Anna saw her like this she would undoubtedly try to fix the problem, which at this point would just be putting her in harm's way again, though she honestly wasn’t sure if she would be able to find a solution by herself. 

Talking to Maren was out of the question, as was talking to Ryder lest he let it slip to anyone else, but Kristoff had proven to be helpful so far, and he already knew a little about her predicament. But finding time for him to help her while keeping it a secret from Anna was going to be difficult, especially after she was now going to be pestering her about the rest of their conversation. 

***

Kristoff was in the stable talking to Sven when Elsa found him. Well, talking  _ as  _ Sven… to himself. 

“But im still hungry Kristoff!” Kristoff, no  _ Sven _ , said, giving a pleading look to the man. 

“No you’re not buddy, I gave you more than enough carrots.”

“But-”

“No buts, Sven, or you’ll get fat.” He patted the reindeer's side, as the animal huffed. 

“I think he looks just fine.” Elsa chipped in, hands clasped softly behind her back. Kristoff rolled his eyes at Sven's smug face, and tossed another carrot into his mouth. The easy interaction made Elsa laugh, a welcome relief from her day full of turmoil. 

“You all spoil him…” He grumbled, as himself. 

Elsa walked over to Sven, rubbing the fur on top of his head, the smile staying in place and she looked at the happy reindeer. Kristoff threw the bag of carrots over his shoulder, grunting at the weight, before throwing it back into the trunk at the far side of the room. He locked it, and then threw a blanket over the top of it. Elsa wasn’t sure how much of that was necessary protection, but considering how much Sven loved carrots she understood the need for some forethought. 

“So what brings you here?” He asked her, picking up a large brush and beginning to sweep up the mess on the floor. The man had never gotten used to the idea that a stable hand was hired to do all the work for the horses and Sven, and still came out to help at least once a week. The staff found it sweet, and he had won them over almost instantly. Now that he was engaged and Anna was queen she was sure they were excited to be able to call him their Prince. 

“I need your help.” She started after beat. She noticed him take in the gloves with a frown, but he didn’t comment on it, waiting for her to elaborate. Elsa knew that if this was going to work she needed to tell him everything, which meant being brutally honest. She kept up the stroking motion on Svens fur, soothing herself more so than him. “But you can’t talk to Anna about it.”

He groaned, stopping his sweeping and leaning on the broom. 

“You’ve got to stop making me hide things from Anna, you know how bad I am at that.” He begged, his rounded face pulled into a look of dismay.

“I know, it’s just for now though I promise. Please?” She pouted, knowing how useless he was at saying no to either of them. He rolled his eyes with an even louder groan.

“Fine! What is it you need?” 

“I need you to help me get my powers back under control.” She started quickly, afraid he might change his mind. His mouth dropped open.

“Why do you think  _ I  _ can help with that? Surely Anna would be a better choice?” 

“No, I can’t tell her about it yet, or she’ll freak out and I'll have to tell her  _ everything _ and them  _ I’ll  _ freak out and freeze everything… I don’t want to hurt her by accident.” It came out less articulate than she had hoped, but the honesty of her words seemed to strike a chord with the man, and he put down the broom, joining her by Sven. 

“Okay, I understand.” Elsa breathed a sigh of relief at his words. “What do you think i’m going to be able to do though?”

“I suppose I should... explain a few things first.” Her heartbeat quickened as she grew nervous, unsure of whether or not she was ready to face everything head on. But it was that or she kept letting herself go on like this, eventually losing both Anna and Maren completely. She looked around, making sure the stable was free from any ear-wigging servants. 

“You were right before… about Maren…. I do have feelings for her.” She swallowed thickly, looking up at him from under her lashes to judge his reaction, but his face remained impassive. “We kissed the day before I came back with you. Just once, it was nothing… more.” Elsa's knowledge of the `more` that could happen was limited to what she had read in a few books, and the idea of it made her pull a face. Her neck started to feel warm, but she fought the blush before it reached her cheeks, getting back on track. 

“I froze the whole hut, and her shirt. I’m surprised I didn’t do more damage.” She frowned at the memory of the frozen patch on Marens shirt, mere inches away from her heart, aware of just how dangerous that could have been if she had slipped just a little more. She fell quiet for a moment, a throb of dread hitting her at the thought. 

“Hey,” Kristoff caught her eye, “that's okay. It's not surprising that you would react strongly to something like that. I almost passed out after Anna and I first kissed.” He grinned, and Elsa found herself pulled out of the dark hole she was heading down for a little longer. She was so glad Anna had found a man as lovely as Kristoff. 

“The problem is that since this all began I  _ keep _ losing control. I went out onto the water afterwards and the waves threw me under. I couldn’t use my powers at all… I tried to summon Nokk, or to freeze some water but none of it worked… And then wh-”

“Hold on a second. You’re telling me that you got swept into the ocean? And couldn’t use your powers at all? Elsa, that was dangerous! You could have been seriously hurt! If Anna found out…  _ when _ Anna finds out… oooh when Anna finds out I  _ knew _ … oohhh...I’m  _ so _ dead.” He rested his head on Svens shoulders, inhaling deeply before looking back up to her sharply. “Elsa, you can’t just wander into the ocean when you’re upset, powers or not.”

“I wasn’t really thinking straight at the time…” She said sheepishly, quirking a lip up in apology. “Something happened again today too. Maren said something and I froze half the library, but then when I tried to un-melt it I couldn’t access my powers at all. I don’t know what's happening to me, but I need to figure it out before someone gets hurt.” She watched him frown, nodding slowly as he processed the information.

“Well it’s clearly to do with your feelings for Maren right? Or is anything else bothering you?” 

“No, this all started the same time I started feeling strange around her. Though it seems to be getting worse every time now.” She admitted. A weight felt like it had been lifted now that Kristoff knew everything, and for the first time in the last few weeks she felt a calm settle in her.

“Okay. So she makes you flustered and you freeze stuff.” The matter of fact way he said it made Elsa blink in shock. It sounded so easy when he said it like that. Despite the extra worry about people's safety and her own identity crisis, she knew at the heart of it he was totally right. 

“Sooo… we need to find a way of keeping you in control when you feel flustered… Which we do by… by...” His voice trailed off, eyes staring into the distance thoughtfully. She didn’t want to interrupt what was clearly a method of thought for him, so Elsa gave Sven a tickle under his chin, earning her a happy grunt. It felt nice to let someone else do the thinking for her for a minute. 

“I know what to do. But you won’t like it.” She said suddenly, deadpan. 

“O..kay…?” The concern that laced her voice was obvious. 

“Give me a couple of hours, I need to prepare something.” He shot off out the door, pausing momentarily to face her with a loving smile. “You’ll be fine, you know, we all love you no matter what.” He sprinted out the door towards the castle, leaving a confused Elsa and Sven staring after him.

“Any ideas?” She asked the reindeer, who shook his head slowly, clearly just as confused as she was. 

***

Kristoff knocked loudly on Ryders door, not waiting for an answer before walking straight in. He himself had stayed in this very room for a while when he first moved into the castle, before he and Anna were comfortable sharing a bed yet. He remembered marvelling at the intricately chiselled fireplace and beautifully painted walls, so had asked the servants to set Ryder up in there, knowing he would love it. He counted Ryder as a friend, which was something he was surprised about. Like Elsa and Anna he had been relatively secluded from human relationships for most of his life, living in the forest with the trolls. The Northuldra were much more on his level than many of the Arendellian people, as much as he loved them. 

He bounded forward, slamming the door shut behind him, which woke the sleeping man with a scared shout. Kristoff laughed throatily at the high pitched sound, knowing he had made the same noise several times when Anna had bounded in here to wake  _ him  _ up. Ryder sat up in bed, hair sticking up in every direction, and looked around wildly before his eyes focused on the blond man. He groaned and sank back down into the mattress. 

“Wake up, I need you to help me.” Kristoff said, stripping off his gloves and hat and sitting crossed legs on the bed in front of Ryder, giving him only a few seconds to hastily bring his knees up before Kristoff sat on them.

“Why nooow? This bed is `mazing Kristoff, I don't think I c`n leave it.” He ruffled his hair and rubbed at his face as he spoke, the words slurring sloppily in his newly awakened state.

“How much do you know about Elsa and Maren?” He asked, cutting to the chase, knowing Ryder would perk up when he realised what was going on. As expected, the boy opened his eyes fully, blinking at Kristoff with interest. 

“A… lot? What do  _ you  _ know?” They stared at each other for a minute, eyes squinting with suspicion, before they both launched into a comparison of stories, explaining each woman’s side of the tale.

Ryder explained Marens side first, cluing Kristoff in on how Maren had liked Elsa since the day they met, and how she was desperate to help her come to terms with how she was feeling, whether the ice spirit chose to explore a relationship with her or not. 

Kristoff went next, finally explaining why Elsa had run away, much to Ryders shock. He expressed sadness at the knowledge, seeming upset that the woman he had gotten so close to felt so insecure about herself. 

“She wants me to help her get her powers under control.” He finished, ready to divulge his plan to the man now they were both caught up on all the information. 

“How are you going to do that?” Ryder asked, his head resting on clenched hands as he lent forward close to Kristoff, who mirrored the pose. Neither of them were uncomfortable with the closeness, fully engaged in the conversation about two of their favourite women. 

“That’s where you come in. I’m going to need you to convince Maren to do something for me.” Ryder cocked his head to the side, not understanding to direction Kristoff was going in. “Elsa gets flustered pretty easily, but not usually like this. It seems to only happen because of her interest in Maren. Which means if we can figure out how to keep her in control we’re going to need to test it by-”

“By making Maren get her flustered…”

“Exactly.”

“Elsa is  _ not  _ going to like this…”

“Nope.”

They sat there quietly for a minute, testing the others resolve. 

“I’m in.” Ryder said, and Kristoff whooped loudly, slamming a hand down onto his shoulder, a wide grin plastered on his face.

*** 

Maren hadn’t slept well. She had been too tired to stay awake for long, but her dreams had been plagued with nightmares, and the large room made her uncomfortable. The rich green curtains blocked out a little  _ too _ much light, but the bright light outside, unrestricted by mist, was too glaring to sleep through. The strangest thing had been the bed; It was just a bit too soft, and a bit too warm, leaving her tossing and turning. She was sure her brother was probably loving the comforts the castle brought, but for her it would take some getting used to. 

She had gotten an hour or twos sleep, which was more than enough to tide her over until the evening, so she had gotten dressed again quickly and was staring out the window. Her heart had throbbed an hour earlier when she had seen Elsa heading out of the castle in her regal blue coat and a pair of darker gloves, towards the stables. Curiosity hit her when Kristoff had come running out like a man on a mission, but her attention was stuck on Elsa, who had come forward to stand in the doorway. She looked so beautiful, and much to Honeymarens pleasure she seemed relaxed, almost happy, for the first time in a while. Elsa had stayed there for a while, before heading back inside, leaving Maren to take in the sights of Arendelle in the distance, pondering what might have passed between the two in the stables. 

She wasn’t aware of how much time had passed when she heard hushed voices outside her door. She waited for a minute, suspicious, before sighing and walking over to fling open the door, surprised to see Kristoff and Ryder whisper arguing right outside her door. They shrieked, before shushing each other at her sudden appearance.

“Um… shall I give you some privacy?” She asked, looking her brother up and down, noticing how the two men were standing incredibly close. Her eyes were wide, confusion evident.

The boys looked at each other once more before rushing forward, pushing Maren back inside her room and shutting the door.

“Oh, okay… what's going on?” She allowed herself to be led to the bed and sat down upon it, her confusion being swiftly replaced with amusement when she took in how serious and committed they seemed to be with whatever they were planning. She remembered the same look on her brother's face when they were younger, as he similarly sat her down and told her of his grand plans to catch the biggest fish during their spring festival and being crowned as a hero. At the time she had been just as young, and thought the plan was brilliant, but through the years she had tended to point out more and more holes in his `glorious` plans, much to his annoyance. She was glad he had kept his boyishness as he grew up. 

They dragged over two chairs from the corner of the room, positioning them close together in front of her. She raised one eyebrow as they sat down, clearing their throats awkwardly.

“Sooo…?” She asked once again, prompting them.

“I need your help, but I don’t know how much you’re going to like it.” Kristoff said, eyes wide with uncertainty. “It’s to do with Elsa.” 

Honeymaren felt her heart double beat, the sensation slightly painful. 

“What uh… What about Elsa?” She began to fiddle with the feathers dangling from the belt around her tunic, suddenly nervous. 

“She feels like she is losing control of her powers, and we have an idea about how to help her, but we would need you to be a part of it.” She could see he was avoiding telling her something, but didn’t pry further, already confused enough. 

“O _ kay _ ? What's your idea?”

“Do you remember when we were younger and we trained to hunt, Yelena would make us do those weird concentration techniques?” Maren smirked, one eyebrow quirking upwards at her brother's words. 

“The ones you were terrible at? How could I forget?” 

“We think that maybe those might help her, but to make sure they work we would need to… test her.” Kristoff offered. Both men looked at her awkwardly, waiting for the reply. 

“Test her? I get the hunter training, that’s not actually a bad idea at all, but what do you mean by testing her?” 

“She needs to get… flustered…” Kristoff said, his voice quieter than usual. 

“Flustered? What does tha-” She looked between Kristoff and her brother, who both looked sheepish. “You want  _ me _ to make her flustered? Ryder, you can’t be serious?” Her cheeks began to flame at the suggestion of purposely ruffling Elsa's composure. 

“The spirits sent you here for a reason Mare, and they must have known that she was struggling. If we can’t help her she might not ever come back to Northuldra.” 

Ryders points did make sense, but she couldn’t stop the feeling of embarrassed guilt at the idea of doing what they were suggesting. It wasn’t like she didn’t think she could do it, it was pretty clear that no matter how hard she tried  _ not  _ to make Elsa flustered she still managed to cause problems, but she hated knowing that Elsa was uncomfortable being around her. Doing this would only make the situation between them worse. 

“Look, I get what you are trying to do guys, but honestly I think I should just leave Elsa alone. I’m only making her feel worse by being around her. Maybe you guys should just teach her and I’ll stay away for a while.” She suggested. She was already wondering if coming here was a bad idea, and this wasn’t making her feel any better about the situation. Elsa would wind up hating her if she wasn’t careful. 

“She doesn’t want that, trust me.” Kristoff gave her a sad smile, and something about the honest expression on his face gave her pause. 

“We’re not asking you to do anything that would make either of you uncomfortable, just, you know… be within three feet of her. That seems to do the trick.” Honeymaren couldn’t help the laugh that slipped from her lips, and she looked away, the smile lingering. 

“Let's say I agreed to this… plan. Are you going to tell Elsa about it all? Including my part in it?” She asked, and Ryder joined her in looking questioningly at the blond as he scratched at his fluffy hair. 

“If I didn’t I think she might have Anna banish me from Arendelle forever.” He stated grimly. “Though I think I’m heading in that direction anyway when Anna finds out about all of this.” The siblings threw him a look of pity, aware that his loyalties were being tested by keeping it a secret from his wife-to-be.

“If you can get her to agree… then I’ll help.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waiting two days to post is painful... I don't like it.
> 
> sasjakoning on tumblr drew some funny fanart based on this fic, go give them some love :3   
> My tumblr is ksmercury if you want to follow me there... formerly N7Marina if you wanted to take a stroll on there 
> 
> Marie - Kristoff is such a great character, so I really wanted to make the most of him and bring out his and Elsas relationship more. I'm glad you think its working well.  
> junkdani - Anna tends to be a little oblivious to things in canon, so although she's suspicious it might be a bit more of a journey. She'll be making much more of an appearance soon.  
> OtakuBaby - Your comment was lovely, it really made me smile so thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Elsa knew something was wrong by the way Kristoff walked with his shoulders bunched up around his ears, a tense posture she recognised from when he thought Anna was going to tell him off for something. It didn’t do anything to help calm her raging nerves as they walked quickly through the halls towards the library. True to his word he had only been gone for around an hour before coming to fetch her, awkwardly asking her to follow him. She wondered if he had found something in a book briefly, before realising that that would mean Kristoff studying the books in the first place, and dismissed the thought. That left the idea that he had chosen this specific location because he knew she was most comfortable there, which both warmed her heart, and made her more worried about what he was going to tell her. They rounded the last corner, coming to a stop outside the double doors, and the man exhaled forcefully, looking at the floor.

“Do you trust me?” He asked, and Elsa felt her walls starting to build back up, not sure what to expect. She took in his nervous disposition one more time, and knew that despite her concerns, she did trust him implicitly.

“Of course.” 

“Okay… Do you also promise not to have me beheaded or something if you get angry at me?” Eyebrows raising, she found herself softening at the choice of words. She would have expected a joke about turning him to ice, but he had avoided using any phrases that would make her feel bad.

“I do…” 

“Okay… here goes nothing.” He looked terrified as he opened the doors, ushering her inside quickly before closing the doors behind him. The concern she was feeling trebled when she saw what was behind the doors. Maren and Ryder were sitting around the table, fidgeting awkwardly, obviously just as nervous as Kristoff. They sat up straighter when they saw her, silent.

“Kristoff?” She whispered forcefully, staring daggers into him. 

“Just trust me. Come sit down.” He dragged a reading chair over, placing it a small distance away from the table, letting her keep a reasonable distance from them. He joined the two siblings at the table, making sure he was the closest one to her, with Maren the furthest.

Ryder gave her a nervous wave when she met his eyes, before placing both his hands on top of the solid pine table, drumming his fingers. Elsa caught Maren watching her, a shy smile gracing her lips. She couldn’t help but return the smile, but broke the eye contact swiftly to glare at Kristoff. 

“I had an idea when you asked for my help earlier, and I think it might actually work.” He began, having settled opposite her. 

“And this plan involved dragging them into it?” She asked accusingly, though she was careful to stay away from any details in case she was wrong. 

“I told them that you felt your powers were getting a little out of hand, and they agreed to help me teach you some methods to control them.” There was a pointed look he gave her, a slow nod, that told her he hadn’t divulged all her secrets to the girl sat next to him. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had mostly kept to his words of silence, though he was still testing her patience. 

“What methods?” She asked slowly after a beat, clenching her teeth together to stop herself following up with a snide remark about going behind her back. Ryder perked up at the question, surprising her. 

“When we were younger Yelena taught us these hunting techniques. They’re supposed to synchronise you to your body and spirit so you can hunt better. It's essentially a method of meditation that you can engage quickly at at any time.” He explained. 

“If we can teach you how to do that, then you should be able to quickly regain control any time you feel it slipping.” Kristoff followed. 

It wasn’t that Elsa didn’t think that learning some kind of meditative techniques was a bad idea, in fact she thought it could be a fantastic idea, but she wasn’t sure how effective it would be if she reacted to something before she could use them. They could probably help her prevent situations like she had faced in the waters, but a single comment from Maren could cause the same reaction, and no amount of preparation would set her up for a scenario she couldn’t see coming. 

She opened her mouth to argue her point, but Kristoff held up a finger, signalling her not to speak yet. 

“You were mostly worried about your reactions to your fee-...anxiety… and such, right?.” He cringed at the obvious slip up, and Elsa noticed Ryder smirk slightly, confirming her suspicions about him knowing more than he let on about the situation between her and his sister. She sighed, bowing her head and raising a finger to her temple. She dared not look at Maren, fearing the heat that might creep onto her face if she did. 

“Yes.” She said quickly, wishing this discussion would end as swiftly as it could. 

“Here’s the good part. If we get you into the meditative state first, and then expose you to something that would make you respond, we can kind of… train you to not react?” He seemed to struggle with the explanation.

“Expose me? What do you mean?” She asked, lifting her head from her hand to look at him He seemed to freeze under her gaze, and she knitted her eyebrows together as her eyes began to squint, the expression a spitting image of the one Anna pulled on him all the time. 

“Kristoff?” She pushed in frustration. 

He looked at Ryder, who bit his lip and looked away from Elsa. A soft clearing of a throat drew her attention. Maren met her eyes softly, and Elsa could read the tension in her body clearly. Suddenly everything seemed to fall in to place. The panic crawled over her skin as magic started to swirl around under it. She was extremely thankful for the gloves all of a sudden. The very idea of letting her guard down that much and then letting herself be susceptible to Marens charm made her hands tremble in fear. 

“No.” She stated firmly, shaking her head. Maren slumped a little in her chair, and Elsa looked away quickly, feeling her heart lurch. 

“Elsa, it would work, I promise you!” Kristoff begged, leaning forward to plead with her.

“You were supposed to help me  _ not _ hurt anyone Kristoff, not make it  _ more _ likely!” She whispered, pushing herself up and wishing more than anything that the two Northuldra were not in the room for this. 

“We’ll both be here to keep an eye on you if things get out of hand, and you’ll be totally in control of the situation! You said you trusted me Elsa, now's the time to prove it.” He stood and took a step into her space, looking down at her. 

They stared at each other, and Elsa was shocked at the amount of resolve swirling in his russet eyes. She wanted to believe him, but she was convinced that it couldn’t work. The doubts were overwhelming, but she had promised to trust him, and she wanted too badly for it to work that she was almost willing to give in. If only Maren didn’t need to be involved…

“What if-” she started to say, but Kristoff was watching the fearful emotions claw out of her and countered quickly.

“Just try it once. If it doesn’t help I won't make you do it again. We can help you Elsa, I’m sure of it.” He smiled sweetly, catching her mind before it fell too far. She looked down, catching sight of her gloves hands and realising how much shame she was carrying around by wearing them. She would do almost anything to feel free from it again. Though endangering Maren was definitely not on her list of options, she thought that maybe, with Kristoff and Ryder’s help, she could get through it. 

Elsa searched out the gaze of the Northuldra woman behind Kristoff, silently asking for her permission. If she agreed, it was Maren who would be in the firing line. She smiled promisingly back at Elsa, nodding her head once in support. 

“Okay.” She replied quietly, looking back to her future brother-in-law.

*** 

The four of them were sat on the floor at the back of the library, out of direct line of sight of the door, just in case Anna were to walk in. Kristoff assured her that she was tied up for most of the day on business, but that over the next few days it would be much harder to avoid her, and with family game night that evening they knew their time to figure something out was very tight. So they flung themselves straight into their plan, not allowing Elsa time to change her mind. 

She listened intently as Ryder explained the basics, laughing quietly when Maren corrected him on several occasions. The brunette woman was trying her best to be quiet while he explained, at his insistence, but it wasn’t going well for either of them. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the room which made Elsa smile, happy that they all seemed to be enjoying themselves despite their reason for being there. 

“I know what I'm doing Mare, leave me alone.” Ryder was burning some kind of oil in a little dish, which he had placed on a chair behind them. It smelt… warm... if that was possible… and made Elsa's head feel heavy. She wondered if it might have been helping them keep the mood light.

“Okay okay, I’m sorry.” Maren apologised. Her and Elsa were sat facing each other cross legged, with the two boys next to each other to the side of them. With Marens help he had Elsa doing basic breathing control work, though she found herself giggling now and then at the duos antics. 

“Stop opening your eyes!” Kristoff chastised her. He was following along with the steps too, struggling just as much as she was at keeping a straight face, though his problem seemed to be more with the ridiculousness of it all. 

“Okay, once you have your breathing under control you need to start getting in touch with your body.” Ryder was by no means a natural at guiding a lesson like this, and Elsa was sure if she opened her eyes again she would see Maren frowning once more at his words. Elsa had heard about people that taught meditation in Arendelle, and had considered seeking their assistance before her power had been revealed, but had been too unsure of herself to give it a try. Whilst she was certainly glad she was trying it now, she did wonder at the effectiveness of having a man who was clearly not very good at following the steps himself teach her. 

“Usually when we’re first taught how to do this there is music as well so uh... “ Elsa heard a gentle tapping start up, and she thought he must have started drumming against the floor quietly. 

“Try to focus on how heavy your head feels…” He waited a few seconds. “Now let your focus sink down to your chest. Relax it. Feel your heart beating.” He paused again and Elsa found that she was genuinely starting to feel more at peace. They had discussed the plan in a little more detail before starting up, Maren explaining to her how they needed her to pinpoint how it feels when her magic works spiritually, so she could actively tame it when she recognised the feeling the next time. It made sense, and she was hopeful.

“Now think about the floor you’re sat on, how it feels under you. How the air around you feels.” She did as he suggested, and was surprised when she felt the tingling of the air around her. The burning oil was rich and a little sweet as she breathed it in deeply - she liked it. 

“Stay in that space, keeping your body relaxed… Now imagine a glowing orb inside of yourself. Don’t force it, let it form naturally.” She tried to follow along, but couldn’t quite picture it. “Be at peace with yourself, let your body and spirit become one. Feel the earth and air around you, let them guide you into calmness.”

The room was silent except for the quiet tapping of Ryders hands against the wooden floorboards, and even that Elsa found herself tuning out subconsciously. 

“When you feel calm, I want you to reach a hand out and create a small snowball in your hand.”

She had removed her gloves before starting the training, so she lifted a hand up slowly, unrestricted, curiously aware of how heavy the limb felt. Taking a few more slow breaths, she kept the arm there, then carefully stroked the air with her fingers, forming what she could feel was a perfectly round ball of snow in her palm. 

“Perfect… Tell me how that felt.”

“It tingles. Like I’m gathering energy into ball. My arm feels tickly”

“Good, now melt it.” She did as he asked. “How did  _ that _ feel?”

“I-” It was hard to put into words. “Like I just laid down after a hard day… I can feel the power I used having to rebuild.” 

“Where does it come from?” Her hand moved of its own accord, settling itself on a spot on her chest just above her stomach. It pulsed under her hand in time with her heart. She had felt her chest burning before after using too much power, but she had always assumed it was to do with classic exhaustion. Now she could visualise the pool of energy inside her, glittering and twirling, waiting for her call. 

“Keep your focus on that area. Maren?” At the name Elsa felt the area under her hand jump, and her breathing increased. She fought the response, managing to slow her body down again, though a frown had already settled on her face. She tried to ignore the sounds of someone moving, pressing her fingers lightly into her chest. The air above the same hand tingled a little more, and she breathed sharply when a finger stroked its way across hers, followed by another and another, until Marens hand was pressed fully against hers. 

It stayed still, and Elsa followed the steps Ryder had given her. Her mind spoke softly to her body ` _ In, out, In, out` _ . A sense of calm settled over her and the tingling magic slowed again. She watched mentally as the pools rapid movement stilled suddenly, flowing smoothly with breathing once again. It was fascinating. 

The hand began to move slowly, inching its way up to her wrist, and Elsa found herself imagining the look on Marens face. She wondered if she still had here eyes closed, or if they would be boring down into her, or maybe looking at her lips like they had before, begging to move in. She felt the magic swirl again, but this time Marens hand didn’t stop, moving up to her arm, fingers light. Her breathing hitched, and she felt a dizziness wash over her, chest tingling painfully as her heart palpitated once.

The hand stilled, and then pulled away. Elsa heard a soft gasp and she flung her eyes open. She realised quickly that the tapping had stopped, and her eyes first came to rest on Maren, who was looking at Kristoff with a panicked expression. She didn’t realise what was wrong at first, until Ryder breathed out in a huff, a puff of white breath forming. Looking around the room she slowly realised that there was a shimmering in the air around them, the temperature substantially colder, and a thin sheen of white covering the walls and floor. 

Kristoff reached out to her, seeing the panic as it hit her. Grabbing her gloves she shoved them back on, standing up and throwing him a hurt look, before walking straight out of the room, not letting herself speak for fear of letting the unshed tears forming fall. 

***

Her body was still as she cried. She didn’t feel angry, or upset in the typical sense, but a sad emptiness had taken a hold of her. It was familiar, taking her back. Once more she felt entirely alone, her friends unable to help her, and her fear of causing more pain for Anna getting in the way of talking to her when she knew she needed her most. If she knew there was something to work toward she might have felt differently, but she couldn’t see a way out. She hugged her legs to her chest, wishing the gentle waves on the ocean would wash her away with them. 

Whenever she felt sad as a child Elsa had come here, to the unguarded spot on the rocks outside the castle walls. She was sure most of the servants and guards knew she would escape to there when she was younger, but they had always left her alone for the most part. Now was no different. They had seen her flee out of the castle walls through the port doors and climb over a few rocks to get here, but none had questioned it. Briefly she wondered if she could stay there forever, left alone to wash her sorrow away with the tide as it rose. After her parents died Elsa had kept the gloves on at all times, the grief stopping her from being able to control the snow storm that formed whenever she tried to remove them. Part of her wanted to remove them again now, to see if a cloud would form above her, still and snowy, reminiscent of how she felt.

“Hey…” Marens voice was soft, calling out to her from behind. Elsa hadn’t noticed the girl arrive, but she didn’t question it, sure that the guards had probably clued the darker woman in on her hiding spot. She didn’t reply, squeezing her knees tighter to her, a few hot tears rolling down her face. Maren waited for any sign of acknowledgement before sighing and sitting down on the rocks next to her. She saw the girl shiver out of the corner of her eye and realised that it must be colder outside than she realised. As usual, she had gone out in just her dress, not bothered by the chill in the air, but a flick of her eyes to the side showed her that Maren had paused to put her winter tunic, hat, and gloves on before following after her. 

“I’m sorry that didn’t go as well as we hoped…” She paused for a few seconds before realising that Elsa wasn’t going to engage with her. 

“Ryder never was very good at teaching,” she chuckled, talking slowly, “he was never very good at following instructions either mind you. Him and Kristoff are pretty similar really. I’m glad they get along.” Elsa wasn’t sure why Maren was bringing up conversation about Ryder and Kristoff, but she listened to the sound of her voice, eyes glued to the water rolling back and forth just outside of the port entrance. 

“When we were kids, our dad would send us out to catch a rabbit once a week. Neither of us were that great at it, but we did catch a few. Turns out both of us were better at feeding the animals than feeding the family. Luckily there’s a pretty big herd of reindeer in Northuldra so they need a lot of looking after… Did I ever tell you that I wanted to be a healer when I was a child?” Elsa frowned a little at the jump in topic. “I wasn’t as good at climbing trees as I am now, I used to slip and hurt myself a lot. Ikká would always patch me up, and she’d tell me about all the herbs and stuff she used to keep me still. I kind of idolised her for a bit. Obviously I realised pretty quickly that it was the climbing trees part that I enjoyed the most, so I ended up as a warrior instead… but the thought was there for a while.”

Elsa couldn’t stop the breathy laugh at the idea of a young, bloodied up Maren pestering a younger Ikká about medicine, before running off to get hurt again. Having met Ikká a couple of times she knew the woman to be more than a little impatient with her patients. The sound she made was small, and faded fast, but Honeymaren smiled. Elsa realised quickly that distracting her was Marens plan, and it seemed to work better than Elsa liked to admit. She continued to prattle on about silly childhood stories for what must have been almost half an hour, until Elsa was chuckling freely, her head turned to face the woman next to her with her cheek resting on her knee. The tears had dried up for the most part, but she still felt miserable. 

“I tripped over once when we first met you know? You were talking to Anna and I was too busy watching you to look were I was going so I tripped over a rock. I had to hit Ryder to stop him laughing and letting you know I'd done it.” Maren laughed at herself, and Elsa followed suit. 

“I didn’t realise I was that distracting.” She joked. 

“Oh you are.” Maren’s cheeks darkened a tad, which made Elsa smile. Maren had made it clear to her that she liked her on a more than friendly level, which when Elsa ignored her own panicked feelings she found very sweet. She hadn’t known anyone to have a crush on her before, and she realised that she liked it more than she’d originally thought. Thinking back, Elsa carefully remembered all the soft smiles when they talked, the casual glances when Maren thought she was enjoying something, and the breathless touches she had recently started offering her. As the images worked their way through her mind she found herself coming to a single conclusion. 

_ She’s perfect. _

Then a second thought squeezed its way forward, and her eyes filled up with tears once more. 

_ She deserves so much better.  _

Maren stared at her as she felt a tear fall sideways down her face, pooling on the top of her knee. The timing wasn’t great, and Maren looked away quickly, clearly associating the sudden emotion with discomfort about her affections. It upset Elsa more, knowing that her inability to control herself was not only damaging the people around her on a potentially physical level, but hurting Maren on an emotional one. 

“Look, I don’t know what’s going through your head at the moment, but I know that you didn’t start having these problems until after I told you I had feelings for you, and I made you try to face something that you obviously weren’t comfortable with. I don’t know if you return those feelings... but I want you to know that we can go back to the way it was before, if that's what you want... I’m not going to push you to-” 

“I do… return them that is.” Elsa spoke so softly she was surprised Maren heard her at all. What suddenly made her confess she wasn’t sure, but it seemed to her that at this point it didn’t matter anymore anyway. 

“You do?” Maren matched her in volume, the startled intake of breath evident in the sudden increase in speed of the rise and fall of her chest. “Is that why your magic is getting out of control?” She asked. Elsa pulled a half-hearted smile.

“Whenever you do something that makes me feel…” She tried to think of the right word, but couldn’t come up with one, sighing. “My control just slips. I can’t stop it.” The sound of the waves had lessened in the time Maren had been talking to her, the sun beginning to set as the hour latened. 

“Thats… wow.” Honeymaren said, eyes wide. Elsa could see that her admission had shocked the woman, but she wasn’t sure what else to say, so she remained quiet until Maren had regained her composure. They sat in silence for only a couple of minutes.

“Elsa?” Maren finally asked her, “can we try the meditation again?” 

Elsa felt the grip on her knees tighten as she whipped her head around to look at Maren, surprised. It had failed miserably before, so why she would want to try again was beyond her. Ignoring that, there was no one here to keep an eye on them, surrounded by water as they were. So much could go wrong here.

“Do you have a death wish? No Maren, I’ll just end up hurting you.” She changed position, pushing herself backwards and away from the waters edge, suddenly fearful that it might freeze into a clawed arm and drag her and Maren both into the waters depths. 

“I have an idea. Plus, I’m a little better at it than Ryder.” She smirked, a look of determination in her eyes. “Please, just, close your eyes. You can stop at any time, I promise. Just let me know and I’ll stop.” She scooted closer to Elsa, making her heart jump, and she pulled a nervous face, not meeting Marens expectant eyes. 

Elsa swallowed thickly, staring out at the quickly reddening sky, a gentle breeze catching her fringe and blowing it across her face. From the dark hole she felt she had been sucked into she could see Maren offering her a hand to pull her out, but there was a fear deep down that if this failed again no rope would reach be able to reach her from the place she might end up. Failing now would mean hurting Maren, and as an extension of her, Ryder, herself, Anna and Kristoff. The metaphorical walls around her were suffocating, and she felt her breathing stutter. The tickling of hair against her face made her bring up a hand to move it, and the dark gloves entered her vision. Her body tensed, a wave of nauseous anger seeping into her. 

_ These stupid gloves. _

The hatred for the gloves and what they stood for was intense. They were a manifestation of the fear and ignorance about her powers, that had kept her trapped in this dark hole of despair for years as a teenager. Anna had forced her to embrace her powers despite her fears before, and although it hadn’t gone well and she  _ had  _ been hurt her, it was the best thing she had ever done. Now Maren was sat next to her, the same look of determination that she saw frequently on her sisters face, and she wondered what her life could be like if this worked. If maybe she could be happy… with someone. 

She took a deep breath and pulled off the gloves, pausing before handing them to Maren. If she was going to do this she had to commit fully, not half heartedly like she had with Ryders attempt. It was all or nothing. Letting Maren take the gloves away from her felt important. She looked back out to sea, taking in the myriad of colours now painted around the clouds once more before letting her eyes close. 

“Okay, just breathe for now.” She did as instructed, heart pounding, but head surprisingly calm. As her breathing evened out, Maren continued.

“Now, feel your body like you did before. Your head, your chest, their weight. Feel the stone under you, the breeze on your skin.” It was easier to do now that she was outside, the soft brushing of wind against her soothing, and the gentle sound of the ocean a sweet melody. 

“Visualise the orb of your spirit. If you find that hard, hum to let me know.” Elsa tried, but still couldn’t do it. She hummed softly. 

“That's fine, just remain focussed on your breathing, let your body sink deeper. Don't  _ try _ and imagine it, just think of a small light inside you and let it grow when it’s ready.” 

Suddenly a low sound worked its way into her ears. Maren was humming a tune. She formed the notes slowly, and Elsa recognised the lullaby almost instantly as the one her mother had sung to her. She found herself smiling against her own control, and her chest blossomed into light.

_ Oh… _ She thought, realising what the orb they were talking about actually meant. It was formed in the same place she had visualised her magic, and now she could make them both out in her mind's eye, the magic swirling around and into the glowing patch, the two intertwined. 

“I see it.” She said, and Maren paused her humming to speak again.

“Your magic, your body, and your spirit are one, but for now I want you to think of your magic and spirit as a baby animal. If it gets nervous, scared, or angry, you need to soothe it.” 

Marens voice was smooth, like a siren calling out to her. Elsa found herself automatically imagining the young reindeer she had met when her and Maren had spoken around the campfire, and a smile formed. She felt the animal shudder awake inside of her, confused by the call of the woman. 

_ Shhh _ , she began,  _ it’s just our friend Maren. We can trust her. _ The woman began to hum again, the same tune, and Elsa felt the mental image of the animal relax. 

“I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder.” She spoke when a verse ended, before picking up again. 

Elsa felt the animal jump at the idea, but she imagined Marens hand softly stroking the animals fluffy head, and managed to not jump when she felt Marens real hand rest on the shoulder closest to her, one finger splayed slightly wider than the rest to position over her pulse point. She kept an eye on her breathing, making sure to keep it steady. The contact was nice, the suddenly un-gloved hand warm on her skin. A thumb rubbed the area, and she sighed into the sensation. She heard a shuffling to the side of her signalling Marens change in position.

“I’m going to put my other hand on your other arm.” The humming morphed into a different tune she didn’t recognise. The hand resting lightly on her bicep, and Elsa realised the shuffling must have been Maren moving to sit behind her. 

Elsa's heart fluttered, and the swirling magic quickened, the little reindeer looking up at her, clearly anxious.  _ Its… Its okay.  _ She imagined smiling at it, trying to calm it. It looked at her and slowly settled, and her pulse slowed down again. Maren seemed in tune to her, and waited until she was calm before continuing. 

“I’m going to wrap my arms around you… okay?” Elsa could hear the slight nerves in her voice, and felt her body tense, before reminding herself that perhaps Maren was just feeling as nervous as she about touching like this. She took a deep breath and let her head dip in a tiny nod. 

The hands on her shoulder and arm slid across her skin lightly until they were both positioned on her back, just under her shoulder blades. Marens fingertips were slow as they travelled across the sensitive area, the thin fabric formed from ice doing nothing to protect her from the sensations. Elsa's mouth opened and her breathing caught, a tingle running through her whole body, settling lower in a way she hadn’t experienced before. Her heart was beating loudly and slowly, the meditative state opening her up to feelings she was entirely un-used to. The woman behind her paused when she noticed the lack of breathing, waiting for her to gain control. It took a few seconds, but once she realised that her magic still felt relatively contained, and none had noticeably slipped out, she relaxed again. 

Marens hands slowly moved again, diverting their path to the sides, and wrapping under her arms to hold her around the waist. The movement tickled a little and Elsa saw the little reindeer of her magical Spirit wriggle, and felt herself giggle out loud. Surprisingly, she didn’t notice the animal respond in any other way, but she kept a close check on it as she felt Maren settle in behind her, her head leaning down to rest against one side of her white hair. She stayed perfectly still, and the seconds ticked away. She wasn’t pressed close enough for Elsa to feel more than a gentle brush of fabric against her back, taunting her over what it might feel like to feel her fully laid against her.

“The sunset is beautiful, look.” Maren said softly after a while, and her breath was so close to Elsa's ear that she shuddered, once again having to quickly soothe the animal as it whipped its head around in surprise. She opened her eyes slowly, still in a deep place. Groggily, she looked out to the horizon; the sky was a dull dark colour above them, but a vibrant beam of yellow stretched across the line where the sky met the water, hugged by a thin band of the remaining pink from earlier.

“Let yourself come out of meditation slowly, don't force yourself to speak yet.” They sat there, Maren wrapped around Elsa on the rock for a few more minutes, until Elsa felt a wide smile stretch over her face. Her eyes filled with tears, but not in the same way as before. She laughed, breath catching as she half sobbed, feeling more at peace with herself than she had in awhile. Somehow Maren had safely guided her out of the darkness and into an ocean of hope, safely encased in her arms. 

Those arms slowly released from around her, and Maren shuffled back around to look at the older woman. 

“How do you feel?” Honeymaren asked. Elsa smiled at her, eyes wet but throat lined with laughter.

“You’re perfect.” She said in awe, the weight of the terror she had been facing lifted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of people have asked about my upload schedule so I thought I'd put it here so you guys know when to check for updates. I'm writing as much as I can to update quickly, but i'm expecting to upload once every other evening (England Time). Maybe an extra time over the weekend. 
> 
> Lexathorn - Anna makes her return next chapter, i've been enjoying writing her parts haha 
> 
> agentbreezy - I wrote Mare once by accident early on in the fic and I kinda liked it so i decided to make it a thing between Ryder and Maren. It's nice that other people think its as cute as I do :3
> 
> Strange_Guy - The amount of Kudos I've received is amazing, thank you so much for supporting the fic <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

“Are you ready?” Maren asked, holding on to one of Elsa's hands firmly. They stood outside of the lounge, knowing that Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven were already inside. Dinner had been a relatively fun affair, with Ryder and Maren amazed at the elegance of the food they were served. Everyone had found it charming, and conversation flowed freely between them. Kristoff had looked more than a little confused when he walked in with Anna to find Elsa already at the table, engaging in an intellectual conversation with Olaf about whether or not Snowmen mature at a different rate to humans, but she had smiled softly at him, letting him know all was well. She was sure he still had questions, but her honest laughter throughout the meal had been enough to sate him. 

“I don’t know…” Family game night had already begun, and Ryder and Maren had safely excused themselves from joining in to rest, knowing it would give Elsa a chance to talk to her sister finally. The day had felt longer than most considering all that had happened, and she couldn’t wait to collapse into bed, but she knew she had to get this done. She had spoken to Maren about her fears regarding telling her sister, the idea of her reacting badly and triggering Elsa's powers too strong for her to fight. At Maren's insistence they had gone over a few worst case scenarios, hoping to shield her against the more severe reactions she could get. That, plus the successful attempt at controlling her magic earlier had her hopeful, but she was still more than a little nervous.

“Just remember, your little Spirit buddy needs looking after. Concentrate on keeping him happy and you will be fine, just like before.” Maren said, squeezing her hand once, before letting go. “Go get’em Snowflake.” 

The nickname came as a surprise to Elsa, who had to quickly take a deep breath to avoid dropping the temperature suddenly. 

“Really? Did you need to say that  _ right _ now?” She asked accusingly. 

“Sorry” Honeymaren said apologetically. 

Elsa turned away from her, feeling the eyes on her back as she pushed open the door to join her family inside. She didn’t get more than a step or two inside the room before stopping short, eyebrows raised in question. Kristoff was laid on the floor, Sven laying his head on the man's stomach as he flailed his arms, obviously unable to get up. Anna was staring down at him from above, arms folded, and smirking cockily. 

“What’re you gonna say now huh?” She asked him, shoulders pushed back regally. 

“I didn’t do anything!” He huffed, gasping for air against his best friend's head. “You traitor Sven!” 

Sven grunted in reply, a smile evident on his animal features. 

“Okay,  _ what _ am I seeing here.” Elsa began, pointing a finger between the three of them curiously. Olaf chortled from behind Anna.

“Kristoff tried to cheat at cards, and now Anna is punishing him until he admits it.” Olaf said, bouncing over to her and reaching for her hand, which she willingly gave. They walked over to the sofa, sitting down to watch the show. 

“I did  _ not _ cheat! I dropped a card!” He yelled breathily, grunting at the effort. 

“You were trying to look at my hand! I knew you cheated at this game, no one can be as good as you in such a short time.” Anna said, looking away from him in judgement. 

“Anna!” Kristoff finally managed to push Svens head off on him, rolling to the side as quickly as he could and into a kneeling position. “I promise you didn’t cheat!”

Sven stood up, obviously aiming on pinning the man down again. However, he stopped when a playing card that was stuck to his side because visible. Anna opened her mouth slowly in shock, and Kristoff stood up, his pleading face turning smug. He strutted over to the guilty looking reindeer, plucking the card out of his fur. 

“I toold-” he started, holding it aloft. 

“Upt!” She slammed a hand over his mouth, the grumpy look on her face enough to stop him protesting further. “Just because you weren’t lying  _ this _ time doesn’t mean you aren’t still a cheater…” She kept her hand over his mouth as she brought two fingers up to her eyes, doing the `i’m watching you` movement, while squinting at him. 

“You two are so silly.” Olaf said with a giggle. He turned to Elsa, whispering seriously. “Should I tell them about the extra card Anna had under her skirt?” 

“I think we should just leave them to it.” Elsa replied, covering her mouth with a hand to hide the snort of laughter at his comment. His expression lit up immediately, and he bounced off the sofa over to the chest full of games they had by the door. 

“Hey Elsa! Do you want to play Charades again or something a bit easier since you don't seem very good at it.” He pulled out a board with lines carved into it and a box full of tiny counters. It wasn't a game she recognised and wondered how many games Anna had been buying while she was living in Northuldra.  _ Probably more than I want to know… _

“Actually, I was wondering if I could have a few minutes to talk to Anna.” She stated, drawing the attention from the other three. Her stomach lurched. 

“Yeah sure!” Olaf said, but continued to stare at them. 

“Alone.” Elsa smiled at the little Snowman as he formed an expressive `Oh` and ran off to jump onto Sven's back, laughing, leaving the side of the room by the door free. It wasn’t perfect, but it was private enough.

“Anna?” she asked as confidently as she could, though the rubbing of her thumb over her other hand as she gripped them together betrayed the flutter of nerves. Both sisters made their way to the door, sitting atop the long chest full of games. Kristoff looked positively ecstatic as he sat down on the red sofa, giving them both an excited grin. Elsa was aware he would be able to clearly hear what they were saying, the distance between them just enough to allow her to talk unabashedly but not too far that she couldn’t look to him for comfort if she needed him. 

“I’m sorry I had to go into town today… I really wanted to be here to talk to you.” Anna began, gripping onto Elsa's hand, their knees pressed together. Elsa felt such love for her sister that it made her chest swell. She wasn’t sure if it was healthy to have such a roller coaster of emotions within one day, but it wasn’t that unusual for her anymore. 

“No, I think it was for the best anyway. I needed to figure a few more things out…” She felt the swirling anxiety pick up inside her, but knew it was still at a reasonable level. It was surprising to her how prepared she felt for this now. She knew her sister. She trusted Kristoff. Even if this didn’t go perfectly, all she had to do was follow Marens training, and in time she knew her relationship with Anna would mend. There was no way her sister would allow them to fall apart simply because she didn’t agree with who she was attracted to. 

_ I wish i’d spoken to Maren sooner… _ she thought, feeling almost embarrassed at how easily Maren had reigned _ her _ in in the same way she was reigning in her powers, like a scared animal. 

“I’m glad you still want to talk to me. You looked so scared earlier, I’ve been worrying about you all day.” Anna’s expression was so soft and loving that Elsa couldn’t help but smile. 

“I still am, a little. I don’t want you to think any differently of me when I tell you.” She took a breath. “Anna… I have feelings for someone.” Her sister went still, and Elsa had to take a second to breath before she continued, the beat of panic hitting her suddenly.

“Oh my goodness.” Anna said, eyes wide. “You like someone… romantically?” Elsa curled in on herself a little, a shy smile pulling at her lips. 

“Yes… I really do.” In hindsight she wished she had continued her sentence much, much quicker, as Anna let out an excited squeal. Elsa jumped, taken aback.

“Oh, I've waited for this day to come for  _ so  _ long! I’m so excited!” She lifted a hand to her head, a thumb and one finger pressing into her forehead. “Everything makes so much more sense now. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before!  _ And _ It explains why you spoke to Kristoff about it before me, though I am a little annoyed I wasn’t the first to know to be honest.”

“It… It does?” Elsa asked, casting a glance at Kristoff, who looked just as confused as she was. 

“Yes! Plus, obviously it explains the whole  _ I don’t wanna go back to Northuldra but I won’t give you a reason _ thing too. Oh Elsa I’m so happy for you! Have you kissed yet?” Anna bit her lip in excitement, eyes wide and staring into hers as she lowered her hand again to grip both of Elsa's.

“Um… yes, just once.” Elsa felt herself blush, her magic vibrating inside of her. She had expected… anything that wasn’t this, if she was honest. Kristoff had a frown on his face, and was looking at the floor, seemingly deep in thought. 

“Once?” She paused in her excited rant. “Elsa, please tell me you didn’t run home just because you kissed someone…”

“Um… no? Maybe?” She looked guiltily back at her sister, who had pinched her face together.

“Ouch… Although, he must still really like you to come down here with a herd of reindeer. I’m pretty sure that's supposed to be a proposal of some sort actually…” She trailed off.

“Wait... “ Elsa started, taking a sharp breath. Kristoff caught her eye, his brown orbs wide in panic, realising the mistake.

“Aww, Ryder is so _ sweet _ .” Elsa and Kristoff’s mouths dropped open at her words. 

_ She thinks I have feelings for Ryder. Oh no. Oh no no no. _

“Anna,” Kristoff tried, seeing the brick wall that seemed to have hit Elsa in the face, but she wasn’t listening anymore, chatting on about how lovely the Northuldra man was. It continued like that, Kristoff trying desperately to prompt Elsa to correct his fiance, but she was finding it immensely hard to concentrate. Anna threw her arms around her in a tight hug. 

“I’m so happy, Elsa. I’m so happy  _ for _ you.” She kissed Elsa's hair. Olaf ran over to them suddenly, grabbing the red haired woman's hand, hearing the words she had spoken. 

“Elsa's in love with Ryder?! Oh!” Olaf jumped onto her lap, mouth wide. Sven had joined Kristoff, both looking mortified at the conclusion Anna had jumped to. 

“No, I’m not, I-” Elsa tried, but was cut off.

“Or course not Olaf, this is all new.” Elsa felt herself slump against the wall, in a wholly un-royal position. 

_ This did not go to plan. _

  
  


***

  
  


Game night had continued from then on, Olaf having had enough of waiting, and Anna claiming to need a little time to come up with the perfect date idea. Elsa had left early, using the confession as an excuse for feeling suddenly tired. She was finding it hard to wrap her head around what had happened, not entirely sure where things had started to go wrong. She supposed she had been taking her time getting the words out so as to stay in complete control, and it had let Anna's mind run wild. Why she hadn’t managed to correct her was another question completely. One that she didn’t have a good answer for.

_ She looked so happy _ . It wasn’t the reason why her throat had closed up and her brain had iced over, but it  _ was _ the reason she hadn’t managed to re-start the conversation after it had been forcefully ended. 

She knocked lightly on Maren's door, wondering if the woman was still awake. There was a quick scuffling sound and the door flew open almost instantly, causing a gust of wind to blow her hair back. She had let it down during the evening for comfort, and it fell loosely over both shoulders. Elsa blinked, and took in Honeymaren as she came into view. Her hair was also loose, and she was dressed in a long night shift. The fabric was lighter in weight than her usual hide tunic, the pale blue colour not one Elsa had seen on the woman before. 

Both women stared at each other for a moment, but recovered quickly. 

“Hey…” Elsa was the first to speak, trying to keep her eyes on Maren's, instead of drifting to anywhere else. Her heart had skipped a few beats already, and looking at her lips, or the curve of her waist, was  _ not  _ going to help that.

“Hey to you too.” Maren replied quietly, blushing. A few flakes of snow landed on the floor between them. 

“Oops.” Elsa said shyly, coughing in embarrassment and working quickly on settling her emotions. Maren gave her a second to gather herself.

“So… how did it go?” Maren asked, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms. Elsa was glad she hadn’t offered invite her inside, as she was pretty sure she would definitely not be able to control her magic if she was contained in a room with Maren looking the way she was. 

“About that…” She rolled her head to the side, looking away. “I told her I… liked someone.” Elsa flicked her eyes over to the woman again, still unsure of saying it out loud.

“But?” Maren raised an eyebrow, noticing the uncertainty in her words.

“She might… think i’m in love with Ryder?” The words came out rushed and Elsa bit her lip, shoulders rolling forward. There was a moment of confusion on Maren's face. As the realisation of what she was saying hit her she lowered her head, eyes squinting as she started laughing. 

“You… think its funny?” Elsa asked nervously. She had been worried Maren would be upset that she hadn’t come out to her sister yet, and was, although by accident, pretending to like her brother instead. 

Maren's smile was wide when she looked up at Elsa, and she reached out slowly to take Elsa's hand, making sure to make the movement obvious so Elsa had time to prepare. 

“It’s not exactly the ideal scenario.  _ But _ you only decided to tell her a day ago, so i’m not surprised it didn't go entirely as planned. Plus, you won't last five minutes before telling her if she starts trying to push you and Ryder together.” Hand hand held Elsa's gently, her alternate shoulder still resting against the door. 

“Well, you do look pretty similar… If I had to pick a guy, at least he’s kind of cute…” Elsa said with faux seriousness.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Maren’s smile stayed in place, and Elsa mimicked the expression. They looked at each other for a few easy seconds. “Does that mean you think i’m `kind of cute`?” Maren teased, the smile dropping into a smirk. Elsa’s heart skipped a beat, and the temperature dropped suddenly as the snowflakes returned. 

“I- I do.” Elsa fought out, breathing slowly to bravely engage in the obvious flirtation. Maren seemed to be struck dumb at her reply, which gave Elsa a wave of confidence. “Thank you for today. I- I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t helped me. I’ve spent so many years assuming if I lost control someone would get hurt that It can sometimes be hard to see past it. I suppose I’m still not quite used to trusting other people… or myself for that matter. I… go into a dark place sometimes.” Maren frowned. It was a frown of worry more than anything else, and Elsa felt the hand holding hers tightening its grip. 

“Please talk to me if you feel that way again, okay? Even if you’re worried you might hurt someone by doing so. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t agree with, but I don’t want to think about you suffering like that by yourself again.” 

Maren looked deeply into her eyes, pleading with her to keep letting her in. The darkness Elsa had grown so familiar with was something she now knew wasn’t healthy, but years of it had trained her to deal with it without complaining. Anna had seen how closed off she had been since she was a child, and both of them knew the intricacies of the pain that had come with their parents death, so for her it was the feelings of joy and comfort that the past few years had brought that were the unusual ones. 

“I promise to try.” She said honestly, squeezing Maren's hand back. They stood there for a few seconds more, simply enjoying the others presence. Elsa let her mind wander, and her eyes followed, memorising all the little details on Maren's face. She had always liked the girls freckles, but now that she looked at them with enlightened eyes she realised how pretty they truly were. A slightly larger one on her cheek made Elsa's lips quirk up. 

“Elsa?” Maren asked quietly, and Elsa gave her her full attention once more, realising that her eyes had strayed down to the darker colouring of Maren's lips. Her throat felt dry. 

“Can I kiss you?” The Northuldra asked. Elsa's heart jumped, breathing catching. Her magic felt like a leaking tap, a steady flow seeping out with her emotions, but not enough to worry about fixing immediately. Her gaze floated down again, eyelids fluttering. Maren waited for her to nod her permission before leaning forward, pushing off of the door frame. Elsa was growing used to the woman’s careful habit of pausing for a second or two before doing something that might shock her, and it made her chest warm with affection.

When Maren's lips brushed hers she exhaled, her body sinking into it. The kiss was chaste, the pressure soft and lingering, but innocent. Maren pulled away after little more than a second or two, and Elsa found herself chasing the contact briefly. 

“Goodnight Elsa.” Her eyes remained glued to Elsa's lips as she spoke. Elsa let out a short giggle as she tried to step away, but tripped over her own feet. She cringed as she caught herself, an embarrassed laugh escaping her as she tried to smoothly regain her composure. The hand covering Maren's mouth to hold in a chuckle made it clear it wasn’t entirely successful. A warm blush flooded her cheeks. 

“Night Maren.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7! This is a little shorter than usual, but the last chapter was extra long so i'm not worried. Hopefully you all like this one as much as you seemed to love the last part.
> 
> EmeraldFondue - Your comment made my day, honestly, thank you so much <3 Also, well done for showering between chapters, that's actually pretty impressive haha
> 
> asaptoe - Do your school work! If you fail your test because you've been too busy reading this I'll feel guilty haha I am curious what the test was for, so if you wanna drop a comment telling me how It went I'd love to know. 
> 
> Millacnin - I must admit that those reasons were part of what made me want to write this. I've never been one for quick or unrealistic plots, even if they are sweet, so I decided until that if I could read what I wanted, I may as well write it myself. 
> 
> Keep up all the comments guys, you're making me write this so fast its crazy.   
> Until next time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

  
  
  


The wind was bitter as they walked around the town, being so close to the ocean not helping the freezing temperatures of winter. Everyone, excepting Elsa, was wrapped up in heavy layers of fabric to protect them from the chill. Kristoff looked more than a little perturbed to be outside, having finally gotten used to the luxuries of living in the castle. Anna was shivering slightly, rubbing her gloved hands up and down her arms while she walked with Olaf in tow. The two lovers huddled close together, and Elsa couldn’t help but think how sweet they looked. She saw Maren blow out a puff of white air and bit her lip, wondering if putting an arm around her would help warm her up or only further her discomfort. For obvious reasons, them being in public one of them, and Anna still not being entirely clued in on their situation being another, she wouldn’t dare to do anything like that, but the thought still made her heart flutter. 

The two Northuldra seemed less affected by the temperatures, but were still bundled up in their thick winter tunics, hats and gloves. Elsa walked between them while they took in all the sights, Anna trying her best to supply them with answers when they questioned her on things about the town. Mattais had joined them, and was more than happy to spout some of the useless facts he had learned about Arendelle in his time living there again. 

“Oh! This is Dustin’s place, he’s the guy who takes the pictures!” Mattais said excitedly, waving a hand in the air as he tried to remember the word for a photograph. “Have you had one done yet? You  _ really _ should!” 

“Yeah Elsa,” Anna said, pushing between her and Maren, `accidentally` pushing her closer to Ryder. “Maybe  _ you _ should get one done; it’s been a while right? I’m sure Maren and Ryder wouldn’t mind buddying up to you for fifteen minutes or so. Would you Ryder?” Anna winked at her, looping an arm through hers with a grin. 

“Uh… no?” Ryder replied, oblivious to what had gone on between the lot of them the evening before. Elsa saw Kristoff shoot him a dismissive look, and Ryder shrugged and let it go. 

“I’m sure he would  _ love _ that!” Maren said with a chuckle, sucking her lips between her teeth when Elsa glared at her. Anna nodded enthusiastically, missing the joke.

“Maybe another day... “ She said, clearly awkward. 

“Oh! Oh! Do you think  _ Snowmen _ can have photographs taken” Olaf asked Mattais, mouth open wide in a joyous smile. 

“Well I don’t see why not?” He replied, crouching down in front of him as if he were a child. Watching Olaf mature was a strange experience for Elsa, as he still acted like an excitable child most of the time, just with an adult perspective on the world.  _ I think I need to start considering sending him to school... _

***

They wandered around for a couple of hours, with Anna's attempts at pushing Elsa and Ryder together getting more and more obvious as time passed. Maren wasn’t entirely sure how more obvious she could get before her brother finally realised what was up. At present, she was sitting on a bench next to Anna, petting Sven. Mattais stood to the side next to Kristoff, and the two were chatting about something that Maren had tuned out long ago. She was busy staring longingly over at Elsa, who was freezing little animal figures for Ryder and a group of children. Olaf was joining in too, rearranging himself at the will of the youngsters. The children had run up to them a few minutes prior, begging her to make them something, and Ryder had grown so excited by the prospect as well that Anna had immediately sat down and told them to go ahead. 

The children squealed when Elsa closed her eyes and built a life sized cat figure out of snow, a frown creasing her brow as she made it jump around them, the pure white creature glittering beautifully. A child tried to reach for it, but it jumped to the side and out of reach, repeating the action when Olaf suddenly tried to jump on it as well. Maren giggled quietly at the sight, Elsa's slightly awkward interaction with the children making her feel fuzzy. The forest cat curled up after a few moments, and melted away into the floor, much to the children’s dismay. The Ice Spirit looked over to her and Maren waved softly, catching Elsa's small smile as she brushed a bang out of her face. 

“That’s enough for now,” she heard Elsa tell them “go back to your parents.” 

Maren felt eyes on her, and turned to the side to see Anna giving her a funny look. 

“What’s up?” She asked the red-head quickly, hoping she hadn’t noticed anything off about the interaction. She wanted Elsa to talk to her sister in her own time, and until then she could deal with a little secrecy. 

“Nothing, nothing.” Anna seemed to re-route her mind instantly, shaking her head. “Oh! You liked the chocolate tart last night right? You have to try a chocolate Lefse!”

“We’re getting Lefse?” Mattais piped up, overhearing the conversation. Kristoff smirked at the man, clearly entertained by his ongoing fervour for being back in Arendelle. 

Elsa and Ryder returned to them, talking casually about something. Maren looked at Anna, suddenly feeling slightly uncomfortable with the expression on her face as she watched her sister interacting with Ryder. She frowned. It was funny at first, teasing Elsa, and she didn’t have a problem with her waiting a little longer to correct Anna, but the way that the younger sibling was pushing them to spend time together with such excitement on her face rubbed her the wrong way. She took a breath and tried to ignore it. 

“Did you  _ see _ that?!” Ryder asked in a hushed voice when he came over to stand next to her. She stood also, and the group followed Anna's lead towards the centre of the town. Ryder was fascinated still by Elsa's powers, and having spent less time with her privately than Maren had, she was sure seeing her use them like this was a huge novelty for him.

“I did. Did you enjoy buddying up to Elsa?” She asked with a laugh, ready to let her poor brother in on the joke. 

“She’s epic… I’m not sure why she’s hanging out with me over you though. I thought you said she was going to talk to Anna last night?” He made sure to keep his voice low. 

“Fun story actually. Anna thinks she likes  _ you _ .” Maren smirked at her brother has he stopped in his tracks, gawping at her.

“What? Why?!” He slowly came back to his senses, shaking the shock off like a cat would water from its coat. Maren gave him a side-wards glance, shrugging lightly.

“Anna jumped to a conclusion before Elsa could get the words out. From what I can gather she was too awkward to correct her. Did you really not notice her pushing you two together all day?” They jogged a couple of steps to catch back up to the others after their short pause. 

“She was? How did I  _ miss _ that?” He asked, voice raising. She hushed him, noticing the others had come to a stop outside a small building. Neither of them were used to the huge buildings yet, but they tell that this one was a standard Arendellian shop. The dark wooden beams on the front wall stood out against the painted yellow building, and Maren followed the beams upwards to a sign. The words made no sense to her, but the picture of some kind of food sparked her curiosity. 

Anna, Kristoff, and Mattais headed inside with promises of food. Elsa looked over to them, a small smile pulling at the side of her mouth. Ryder threw her a glance that roughly translated to ` _ I’ll leave you two alone`,  _ and trotted over to Sven and Olaf. Maren stepped closer to Elsa and smelt the yeasty aroma of baked goods waft from inside the shop. She threw a cautious glance through the windows and into the shop, making sure Anna was preoccupied.

“So… how’s your date with my brother going?” She started, ignoring the small stab of jealousy. She knew it had more to do with the happy reaction from Anna rather than any kind of worry about the two of them. She didn’t know the queen well enough to make a decision about whether she would care about her and Elsa potentially pursuing a relationship, but the conversation she had witnessed over the campfire didn’t fill her with hope. Kristoff had apparently told Elsa she was okay with same sex couples now he had spoken to her, and Elsa seemed to now believe him, but Arendelle held so many views she wasn’t so sure about that it still left a small feeling of uncertainty weighing in her stomach.

“Fun actually, but I'd much rather be making snow animals with  _ you _ .” Elsa said.

“Yeah tell me about it, Mattais is great but I do  _ not  _ need to know any more facts about Arendelle from thirty years ago. It’s confusing enough as it is.” She smiled lightly, and reached out absentmindedly to place a gloved hand on one of the feathers hanging from her belt. Fiddling with the feathers was a motion she did for comfort, and she had found herself doing it far more frequently since coming to Arendelle. Elsa smiled at the comment, noticing the movement and reaching out to take the hand in hers. 

Maren was amazed by how much Elsa had changed in the past day alone. When she had found her out on the rocks she had looked so lost and alone, it had broken her heart. Kristoff had been right about their meditation techniques being a good idea, but she would admit to being surprised at their effectiveness. Yelena had taught her many methods of meditation in her teenage years, which Ryder had not been privy to, to help with her warrior training. It was the methods for calming fear and nerves that Maren had used on Elsa. When  _ she _ had learnt how to tune into her Spirit effectively it had been easy to stay in control of her own fears, and she imagined the same must be true for Elsa. 

They had held hands frequently before all this began, but considering how things had turned out the simple gesture made Marens heart melt. She stared at the goddess of a woman in front of her, and wondered how on earth she had gotten lucky enough to get to spend time with her.

They heard Anna before they saw her, her voice echoing as she threw open the door, arms full with partially wrapped up food. She walked over to them, arms held aloft to display the spread. Maren noticed her look down at their conjoined hands, and felt Elsa let hers go. Her face was a mask of calm, but she once again felt a twinge of frustration. The smile on Anna's face had dropped a little when she looked back up, and she noticed that the red-heads gaze was trained on her. 

“Lefsa?” She asked suddenly, her face brightening again. Maren took one of the wrapped crepes and took a bite. The sweet, chocolate covered flatbread made her smile, the small bites she saw Elsa taking from her own Lefse making it even wider. 

***

“Elsa we need to talk!” Anna near shouted when they got back into the castle. 

“Sure… what’s wrong?” Anna took her arm and dragged her to the far side of the lounge, away from the others. Everyone had gathered in the warm room, huddled around the fire to re-heat themselves. Elsa saw Kristoff cringe as she was pulled away and felt a small wave of panic rise inside of her. Maren seemed more than happy in her conversation with Ryder, and Olaf was spouting facts at Sven, leaving her no way to escape whatever the oncoming interaction was going to be.

“Okay. Okay okay  _ okay _ …” Anna started, and Elsa settled in for what was obviously not going to be a quick reveal. Her sister was fidgeting. Usually she would pace, but it was fairly clear that she didn’t want the rest of the group finding out about what they were talking about. 

“I don’t know how to say this Elsa, and I don’t want you to react badly to it. But I think it’s important to tell you. And obviously I  _ could _ be wrong. But I doubt it really because I've learnt a lot about this kind of thing over the past few years and let’s face it, I think when it comes do-”

“Anna.” Elsa interrupted, knowing her sisters rambling could go on for a long time if let be. She was more than a little confused about where this conversation was headed. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Anna took a deep breath in and then exhaled it with a  _ phew _ noise. “Okay. I suppose I should just say it right?” She looked at Elsa, who raised her eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. Anna took Elsa's hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. 

“I think Honeymaren has feelings for you!” She said, her voice hushed and high. She had leaned in to say it, as if it was a massive secret. 

Elsa froze. On one hand she wanted to laugh, knowing how funny the situation was when you knew everything that had happened. On the other, she felt the panic rising in her chest, a spark of energy tingling within her. 

“Oh?” She asked, as naturally as she could.

“What do you mean `oh`? Doesn’t that make you feel awful?” Anna was wide eyed, brows knitted together in an expression of concern. 

“Why would it make me feel awful?” Elsa took a slow breath, the magic swirling dangerously.  _ This is it,  _ she thought,  _ she’s going to say it’s weird because we’re both women and then i’ll accidentally freeze something and everything will be ruined.  _

“You know… because you like her brother?” Elsa could visualise the bundle of baby reindeer that she saw her spirit as cocking its head in confusion. The magic had been swirling violently, ready to escape, and the comment had made it still in an instant. She blinked once, twice. 

“I- uh… hang on… the reason you think it’s weird is because of the Ryder thing? Not because she’s a woman?” Elsa watched Anna’s face scrunch up.

“What no, of course not. Well, I mean, I still find it a little bit  _ strange _ , but Kristoff told me its normal in loads of places, and It  _ is _ just love after all so I suppose it’s fine right? But anyway, I feel terrible! I’ve been supporting you trying to flirt with Ryder and all day I've been doing it right in Honeymaren's face! I’m a terrible friend.” 

Elsa laughed. She couldn’t help herself. The feeling bubbled up inside of her and forced its way out before she could control it. The sound gained the attention of the rest of the group. Confusion was apparent in Anna’s face as she took in Elsa's strange reaction.

“Why is she laughing like that…?” She heard Olaf whisper to someone, but he was shushed.

“Anna,” she said with a sigh as the laughter stopped, “you’re right, Maren does have feelings for me.” She looked over to Maren, who smiled with a mixture of shyness and pride written on her face. Anna followed her gaze, confused at the interaction. 

“And... her feelings are returned.” Elsa said bravely, and she heard a collective intake of breath from Maren, Ryder and Kristoff. Olaf made gasped excitedly, clapping, and even Sven seemed to sit up a little straighter, all of them waiting for Anna's response.

There was a pause.

“Both of them?” Anna whispered, looking shocked between the three of them. Ryder pulled a face and Maren groaned, neither one enjoying where that train of thought had taken the girl.

“No Anna, that's…  _ definitely _ not the case. I don’t actually like Ryder. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lie to you, but when you assumed it was him you looked so happy and I was so scared you wouldn’t be as happy for me if you found out I- that I like… women.” Elsa’s smile faltered as the last words came out, realising that everything was now out in the open. 

Anna was silent at the admission, taking it all in. A delicate frown played on her brow, and she looked at the floor to their side. Their hands stayed clasped, but Anna’s grip had softened. As a couple more seconds ticked by Elsa felt her braveness crumble away, control starting to slip as the sudden change in her sisters disposition pushed the worst of her anxieties to the surface. She tried to take a breath as she had been doing with Maren, but her throat felt tight. 

_ She said just a minute ago she didn’t care about two women liking each other,  _ she told herself,  _ she’s just processing. Its fine.  _

A shiver ran over her as the swirling of magic trickled its way free, the reindeer she had been imagining not coming to her mind. The inability to conjure the image only made her panic greater, and she closed her eyes for a moment, noticing a small drop in temperature. A rustling sound came from where the rest of the group were sitting, and she was grateful for it, as it reminded her that they were ready to jump in if needed. 

“Oh” One sad word was all Anna gave her, but Elsa opened her eyes again, taking in the deeper frown, and clearly tearful eyes of her sister. 

“Anna?” Elsa asked quietly, trying to catch her sisters eye. 

“I- I didn’t realise. I’m sorry.” Elsa felt her pulse quicken, and a small patch of frost caught her attention on the wall behind Anna. She swallowed, and the rustling sounded again, from two places this time. 

“Why are you apologising?” Elsa asked, managing to take a few steadying breaths. Anna looked up at her and Elsa was shocked by the raw emotion on her face. Her eyes were full of tears, face set in a demonstration of deep sadness.

“I didn’t notice. You must have been so uncomfortable here all those years thinking no one would accept you.” Anna sobbed once, a few tears falling down her cheeks. The rustling sounded once more, sounding distinctly like two people flopping back down into the sofa this time.

“No, you didn’t do anyth-” 

“I lived with you for  _ years _ and never even noticed Elsa. What kind of a sister does that make me? And I said all those things to Yelena… right in front of you… I’m so sorry.” She sobbed openly, and Elsa wrapped her up in her arms instantly, sisterly instincts taking over. 

“There was nothing for you to notice Anna. I only figured it all out recently.” She stroked the red hair, feeling her own tears forming. 

“Is that why you came home?” Anna asked into her shoulder, sniffling. 

“Mmhmm… I panicked, and my magic went a bit haywire for a while. I only really admitted it when Kristoff-” The man in question threw himself off the couch to enter her vision, making grand gestures to make her stop. She shut up instantly, eyes wide. 

“Kristoff? What did Kristoff do?” Anna pulled away, looking at her with puffy eyes, before turning to see Kristoff on the floor with his arms spread wide, face panicked. He laughed quickly, moving into a more relaxed pose. Anna's face morphed into one of accusations, and she pinned Elsa with a forceful stare. “How much input  _ did  _ Kristoff have in this?”

“Um… a bit…” 

“Define `a bit`” She pulled away completely, crossing her arms. Ryder and Maren chuckled from the sofa, but stopped abruptly when Anna shot them a glare. 

“Well… he figured it out about a week after I came home. Then I confessed my feelings to him so he would help me get my powers under control. He drafted in Ryder, and they planned this meditation thing, oh and….” She trailed off, noticing Anna's open mouth. 

“You told  _ him  _ first?!” Her voice raised. “And  _ you!”  _ She whirled on Kristoff, “You told  _ Ryder _ ?!” Kristoff sunk his head into his shoulders, looking incredibly guilty. Elsa's eyes widened as she realised how much trouble she had landed Kristoff in. She mouthed a quick `sorry` to him.

“She asked me not to tell you.” He said sincerely, and Anna turned her attention back to the paler woman. 

“He’s right.. I did.” A flash of hurt showed on Anna's face. “I was scared when I first realised, and I lost control of my magic… completely. I didn’t want to tell you in case you weren’t okay with it and I accidentally hurt you.” 

“What do you mean by `lost control` of your magic?” Anna asked tentatively. 

Elsa sat her down, Ryder and Maren moving onto the floor to give them room. They all sat in a circle, allowing Elsa to explain while chiming in with a comment here or there. It seemed to hit Anna hard when she explained how close she had come to losing herself to her fears, and Elsa felt awful for making her feel that way. The idea of her being unable to save herself after the incident in the water had set Anna off crying again, and Kristoff was quick to comfort her. 

When everything was out in the open they sat there for a few minutes quietly. 

“So, are you two actually an item now or…?” Anna asked. Elsa stiffened, suddenly nervous. She quickly looked at Maren and away again. The Northuldra was staring at her, her fingers delicately fiddling with a feather. 

“We haven’t had that conversation yet.” Maren supplied. “It’s been a whirlwind few days... Scratch that, few weeks.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking a lot about how long to make this story, and honestly I'm trying to just let it write itself without forcing an end or trying to keep it going too long. I know the basic plot points I want, and when to generally finish it, but I'm not sure not long it will take to properly write those plot points in. Hopefully you'll stick around. 
> 
> Thank you to RenneeLiddell on Tumblr for drawing fanart for this, It makes me really happy whenever I see someone draw art for this fanfiction <3
> 
> Millacnin - If Frozen 3 ever becomes a thing then I hope Maren is characterised similarly to this. I tried to keep her as close as possible to how she was in the few minutes we got to see of her, so hopefully its not TOO far off. 
> 
> junkdani - I didn't quite manage to keep it up considering this chapter is a day late, but i've been writing on my lunch breaks at work, and then from when I get home until late. Its addictive haha
> 
> Svenhen - I really hope you get to see Frozen 2 soon! Coming out is different for everyone, and obviously for you it might be pretty tough, so I hope when you do it goes well. But no matter what you'll find a place in the community, and fanfiction will be here for you until then. *pats head*


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I know there are quite a few people who prefer to see Elsa as Asexual. That's not how I personally see her, and this fic will be heading in a sexual direction from this point on, so if you're not comfortable with that then it's up to you if you want to continue. I feel its important to delve into how Elsa would deal with that kind of energy in relation to her powers, so its not just shameless smut, but yeah, here's your warning. Otherwise, enjoy. :3

**Chapter 9**

It was snowing, but for the first time in a while, it had nothing to do with Elsa. She had been in a great mood all day, if a little nervous, but the clouds had formed a grey blanket across the sky nonetheless, and soft snowflakes fell lightly over the town. It wasn’t enough to lay on the ground just yet, but the roofs were growing whiter by the second. 

Elsa and Honeymaren had ridden a fair distance from town on their steeds, to a secluded area of land where they could look out over the whole area from a vantage point. Maren had been surprised to see the reindeer waiting for her outside the castle, Elsa already mounted on a beautiful blonde horse with a black and white mane. The reindeer looked more than well, and it had pleased Maren to see just how much care the stable hand was taking looking after their herd. Kristoff had been sure to arrange a field for them to stay in, and staff to wait on their every need. 

It had been Anna’s idea to go riding together, her sister insisting that they spend some time alone together. The past two days had been calm and carefree for everyone. Kristoff and Ryder had spent some time bonding, and Anna and gotten to know Honeymaren a little better. Elsa had found herself just as happy as she had after discovering she was the fifth Spirit, and felt mostly in control of her magic one again. She practised meditation twice a day with Maren, with everyone else joining in on one session a day. She wasn’t sure why they felt the need to join in, but it made for an entertaining half an hour so she wasn’t against it. She had had to draw the line at allowing Olaf and Sven to join in though, after the Snowman’s incessant meditative humming had made it almost impossible to concentrate, leading her to almost freeze the entire floor when Maren kissed her forehead when her eyes were closed. 

“It’s nice to be out here. Arendelle is lovely, but it's a bit overwhelming.” Maren said softly, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck. Elsa hummed in agreement. She hadn’t known at first whether or not living in the forest with the Northuldra would suit her fully or not, but she had adapted to it fast. She could see how it would be difficult to go from such a peaceful place to the hustle and bustle of a port town such as Arendelle. 

“If you want to head back home we can?” Elsa asked, stroking the side of her horses face.

“We?” Maren asked after a second, looking up at her from under her lashes. Elsa smiled at the woman's uncertainty. 

“I’m not going to run away again. Well, unless Gale and Bruni chase me out like they did you.” Maren laughed, an ear splitting smile plastered on her face at Elsa's words. 

Suddenly she turned on her heel and ran a few paces away, leaping into a tree and launching herself up the wooden branches until she reached a higher point. The tree was easily five times the height of them, but it took Maren a matter of seconds to scale it. Elsa had seen Maren climb trees before, and knew that as a warrior for the tribe she was trained to an expert degree, but she felt a hand reach out slightly in fear at her height. 

“Wow… it's even better from up here.” Elsa heard her say, though the sound was quiet from the distance. 

“It’s a little hard to talk to you when you’re so high up…” Elsa called up, careful not to scare her and make her fall. She saw the darker woman look at her for a moment, before dropping down several branches in a few seconds making Elsa freeze a patch of grass under her in concern. She came to a stop two branches up from the floor, feet planted firmly, with one hand gripping the branch above. She raised an eyebrow, smirking in challenge. 

“Well then maybe you should come up.” She lowered her other hand down to Elsa, offering but not pressuring her to take it. Elsa felt her heart begin to pound, for once not because of Maren, but her nerves over falling out of the tree. She looked at the outstretched hand, and then back up to Maren's smirking face. If she didn’t have feelings for the woman she would have scoffed and turned away, but something about the way her eyes glowed, snowflakes caught in her hair, made her consider it. She crossed the distance, reaching a hand out to place her fingertips on Maren’s palm. She stroked the area there briefly, and saw Maren shiver at the contact, smirk gone. Her hand gripped onto Maren's, and she woman in question swallow before raising both eyebrows in surprise. 

“Are you sure?” She asked, clearly not having actually expected Elsa to agree to it. Elsa nodded, and Maren told her to grab onto the lowest branch with her other hand. She quickly kicked off her shoes before doing as requested, and suddenly Maren pulled on her arm, a gentle grunt escaping as she hoisted Elsa up and onto the branch with her. As soon as she was on the branch Maren wrapped an arm around her waist, still holding onto the branch above her for support. Elsa lifted an arm to join Maren’s above them, and the other came to rest on her bicep. 

The ease at which she had lifted her surprised Elsa, and she found herself suddenly paying attention to Marens physique. As a warrior Elsa knew that she had to be in top form, but she hadn’t really paid attention to it before. However, with her hand running across the tensed muscle of Maren's arm she couldn’t stop her tongue from darting out to wet her lips, mind running wild with ideas about where else might be just as toned. With no shoes on Elsa was shorter than Maren, which when paired with the strong form pressed against her made her feel incredibly vulnerable. She caught Maren staring at her lips as her tongue wet them, and felt more than saw the sharp breath that she took. It took a few more seconds than usual for them to regain control, before Maren cleared her throat. 

“I’m going to let you go now, do you feel steady enough?” 

_No_ , she thought, but a “yes” was what came out.

They separated slowly, and Elsa looked up to establish her next hand hold. She noticed Maren’s lip quirking up at something, and followed her gaze to her own hand, where beams of ice had crawled along the bark. She felt heat climb up her neck, and into her cheeks. Luckily Maren chose not to comment, instead kicking off of the branch to give her the height to reach the next branch. A frown worked its way across Elsa's brow at the movement, not sure how to copy. She was grateful when Maren turned to reach to her again.

They continued like that until they were half way up the tree, at which point Elsa made the mistake of looking down. The stuttering of her breath caught Maren's attention, and Elsa’s wide eyes seemed to tell her that they were more than high enough. With a smile Maren dropped down from the branch she was on to where Elsa was stood, signalling her to sit down. Elsa protested, not trusting herself to let go of the handhold. 

“I’ve got you, trust me.” Maren slid an arm back around her waist, steadying her as she lowered herself down into a sitting position. 

Elsa's hand gripped a small branch by her head in a vice hold, waiting for Maren to sit down as well, adjusting herself until she felt steady. She let out a sigh of relief when they we both positioned comfortably, the height no longer feeling like so much of a problem. How the Northuldra managed to lug weapons up into the trees was beyond her, but she was impressed by the idea. 

“The trees in Northuldra are a lot harder to climb.” Maren stated, looking out across Arendelle. 

“ _Harder_?”

“Birch trees don’t really have anything to hold onto...You have to wrap your hands around the trunks and climb up like that.” She laughed at Elsa's disbelief. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you climb those.” 

“Seeing as you got me up here I think I should drag you out on Nokk.” Elsa smirked, giving Maren a sideways glance.

“Urggg… do I have to?” She pulled a face. 

Elsa knew that the Northuldra weren’t typically fans of the ocean. Most, including Maren, were great swimmers, but considering the shipwrecks that occasionally washed up on their shores, and the fog that covered the horizon, she could understand why they had taught their people to be cautious of the wider waters. She hoped that now the seas were much safer for them Maren might one day be brave enough to go for an ocean ride with her, but she wouldn’t pressure her into it. 

“So… about heading home…” Maren started, taking a steadying breath. “Mattais explained about Christmas when the town was decorating yesterday… but…” She stopped for a second.

“But?”

“We celebrate the Winter Solstice in a couple of days. I was wondering if you might accompany me… as my girlfriend…?” Maren’s words were lined with nervousness. “If you’re not comfortable yet then that’s fine obvio-”

“I’d love to.” Elsa responded quickly, her chest bursting with affection. 

“You would?” Maren seemed shocked, which Elsa found sweet.

“I would love to accompany you to the Winter Solstice celebration. And I would love to go as your girlfriend.” 

They had been darting around the conversation for the past couple of days, neither one wanting to have it too soon and ruin something fantastic. But Elsa had been progressing amazingly, and her feelings for Maren had only grown ever stronger after watching how carefully she had helped her navigate her problems. Plus, with Anna and Ryder's blessing, there was really no reason to avoid their feelings anymore. 

“O-okay!” Maren's voice cracked as she spoke, and she cringed, remaining silent for a few seconds. She heard Maren exhale in a huff, but the sound was paired with a look of amazement. Elsa waited patiently, expecting an explanation for the reaction. “I'm dating the fifth spirit.” 

Elsa snorted in amusement.

“Do you only like me for my cool ice powers?” She joked and Maren turned to look at her in awe. 

“Of course not.” Her voice was soft. “You’re… smart, and brave, and _so_ beautiful. Sometimes I forget you’re the Fifth Spirit and I'm still so amazed by you.” She looked down over Arendelle. “When I first met you I thought you were cute, and then when we got closer after you decided to stay I was just… wow. Sorry, I know it probably sounds dumb.” 

The honesty of Maren's words made Elsa's breath catch. She felt her eyes tear up, and hastened to blink them away in case Maren noticed. Her breathing remained unsteady as her heart swelled with emotion. Maren had always been the one to make a move, to push her boundaries and tell her how she felt. Until recently it had terrified her, but now she hoped it would never stop. She leaned over on the branch, careful to keep a firm hold. Elsa pressed her lips to Maren's cheek gently, lingering before pulling away. She stayed close to the other woman’s face, eyes sparkling still when Maren turned to look at her. Their noses brushed and Elsa slowly leant back in again, repeating the kiss on Maren's lips this time. Elsa sighed into it, and they moved their lips slowly, softly, kissing their nervous adoration into each other. Elsa felt her heart beating wildly, her magic dancing inside of her at the feelings. She wanted to press firmer, to kiss Maren until she was as breathless as Elsa herself felt, but their position prevented them from continuing. 

When they parted Elsa noticed the snow had stopped. 

“Oh… I didn’t mean to do that…” She commented. 

“To do- wait… Elsa did you make the snow stop?” She looked up and back to Elsa in shock. 

“Um… maybe? Yes?” She knew that it was Maren's words and lips that had made her magic act on its own, dispersing the blanket of grey above them. However, this time she didn’t want to learn how to control it. 

***

They raced back to the castle, Maren winning mostly because Elsa was restricted by using a real horse instead of a magical one. They were laughing freely as they rode, though Elsa was still careful to reign it in when they entered the town, so as not to cause a scene. When they rode through the castle gates they were greeted by several guards and servants, who smiled merrily at them. Elsa noted the pleased looks on their faces, and wondered how much they knew about her and Maren’s relationship. Several of them had worked for her family since she was young, and had seen her go through the trauma of losing her parents and having to hide her identity for years. From their expressions she could tell they seemed happy for her, which only furthered her feelings of joy. 

There were more staff waiting for them than usual though, and Elsa frowned.

“What’s going on?” She asked as Anna’s personal handmaiden walked over to them. 

“You are requested in the lounge your Highness.” She was smiling widely, and Elsa was unsure what to make of it. Maren gave her a funny look, and she shrugged minutely to let her know she wasn’t aware of any reason for being summoned.

“Who has requested our presence?” She asked regally, hoping that the air of authority would prompt her to explain. 

“Queen Anna. I have been told not to give you any more information.” Her joyful smile turned sheepish, knowing Elsa would not be happy with being kept out of the loop. Anna had organised the trip they had just returned from without telling Elsa, with orders to try and be back before sunset, which she had followed. There hadn’t really been a need to press for an explanation at the time, with Elsa more than happy to accept the push to spend some alone time with Maren now that their feelings were known. But it was starting to feel like maybe that had been more of a distraction than just a sweet idea. Elsa sighed, but nodded her acceptance, letting the stable hand take the reigns of her horse and Maren's reindeer. 

When they were inside and most of the guards were out of view, Maren carefully reached a hand down to brush it against Elsa's; their conversation seemed to have made Maren brave, knowing that her advances would finally be welcomed without fear. Slowly, she wrapped her hand around the other woman's, intertwining their fingers. Maren's face blossomed into a grin. It was surprising to her how little she cared about the reaction of the staff, even though she had been worried about it before. Anna was the only person whose opinion could have ruined her, so with her sister now completely supporting her, and Kristoff and Ryder encouraging them too, Elsa knew that no matter what anyone else thought it would be okay. 

Silence filled the halls as they walked, both more than a little unsure about what they should be expecting when they arrived in the lounge. Maybe Anna had some news? Or potentially they had finally had enough of the two dancing around their feelings without properly talking about it and were going to hold an intervention. _A bit late..._ Elsa thought. With a small giggle, Anna’s handmaid pushed open the doors to the lounge, and Elsa felt her eyes widen. The woman gestured for them to enter, which they both did, gobsmacked. As soon as they were inside the doors closed behind them, and Elsa took in the sight, silent. 

The sofas had been pushed against the walls, the room cleared of all furniture. In the middle of the floor a bundle of duvets and blankets had been laid out, creating what looked like a very soft area for them to sit on. Candles adorned most of the free surfaces around the outside of the room, with a couple sat on two small wooden stools closer to the bedding. On the spread, there was a wicker basket, filled with luxury treats of all varieties. Elsa spied her favourite pastries in the box, and one of the chocolate tarts Maren had enjoyed a few days ago. A bottle of wine was positioned gracefully against the side of the box, the dark colour contrasting against the cream silk lining the basket. 

Maren took a step forward, picking up a folded piece of paper sitting on the blankets. She scanned over the page quickly before recognising the font of Anna's name at the bottom and passing it to Elsa with a confused but dorky grin. 

_I know how bad you are at romance, so I’m giving you a helping hand._

_Anna_ _X_

Elsa raised a hand to her head, rubbing her temples with a groan. She was right, Elsa had no experience with anything romantic except from Annas tales of gestures from Kristoff, but to call her out so blatantly… she would have words. 

She looked around once more, before letting her eyes rest on Maren, illuminated by candlelight. They had made sure to arrive back at sundown, as requested, and now Elsa understood why. A pink glow illuminated the sky, shining through into the lounge, but leaving it dark enough to let the candles and the lit fire do their work. The way the rich colours bounced off Honeymaren's warm skin tone sent a flurry of feelings through her, and she found herself unable to look away. She watched as Maren bent down to pick up a glass and the bottle of wine, holding them questioningly toward Elsa.

“Would you care for a glass your majesty?” She mock bowed at Elsa.

“Typically a woman would courtesy before her Queen.” She responded jokingly, walking over to her. Maren grinned, but it quickly morphed into a grimace. 

“Your customs are so strange. I’m glad Anna doesn’t actually make me courtesy.” Elsa chuckled at that. Anna didn’t follow as many of the old royal procedures as she had when she was queen, which Elsa was happy about. They had been incredibly confining for her, and she knew they wouldn’t suit her sister at all. 

“Do you even like wine? I haven’t seen you try any since being here…” Elsa queried as Maren popped open the bottle like she had apparently seen the servants do. 

“I’m not sure, but you and Anna like it right, so it can’t be that bad.” She took a sniff of the bottle and pulled away quickly, unsure. “On second thought, I'm going to withhold that judgement until I've actually tasted it.”

They poured two glasses and sat down on the blankets. Elsa instructed her to give the wine a few minutes to breathe, which had confused Maren to no end, but she had agreed, helping herself to the chocolate tart. Eventually Elsa raised her glass, swirling the ruby liquid slowly and bringing it to her lips. She let the wine sit on her tongue and took a small breath before swallowing, to taste it fully. As it hit the back of her throat she felt it burn a warm path down to her stomach, noting that it was definitely a strong wine. She glanced at Maren, who was staring at her with the glass raised half to her mouth. 

“It’s strong, don’t drink too much of it.” She saw Maren look at the blanket between them and swallow, making Elsa wonder what she had been thinking about. The younger woman sniffed at her glass as she had the bottle and grimaced, but carefully raised it to take a sip. Elsa knew what was going to happen the second she noticed Maren inhaling when the glass was pressed against her face. Maren breathed in the scent of the wine as she swallowed, stronger where the glass was funnelling it upwards, and coughed. Luckily she had finished taking the sip.

“Urg. You like this?” She held the glass up, staring into the red alcohol as if hoping to suddenly understand its purpose. 

“I started drinking wine quite young. I didn’t like it at first either, but you grow to enjoy it the more you have it.” Elsa took another sip, sighing into the warmth it brought her. Maren seemed to faze out again for a moment, and Elsa looked between her own glass and Maren once, realising that it was the motion of taking a drink that seemed to have her entranced. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. 

Anna had left a few games out for them, one of which being a board game Anna had once brought up to Northuldra, so Maren knew it. They played a couple of rounds, until they had eaten the treats provided, and Elsa had polished off a large glass of wine. Maren had closed her eyes and downed half of her glass, which Elsa had quickly removed from her and said that that was more than enough for someone not used to wine. 

She had been right, and Maren was a little more giggly than usual. Not enough for her to worry that she might be drunk, or even heavily tipsy, but enough that she had her hand on Elsa's hip, stroking the area with her thumb, without questioning it. They laid close together, both pushed up on one forearm, telling stories about their childhood. Elsa had picked the happier memories, trying to match some of the wondrous tales Maren was supplying.

“Your lips are a bit red.” Maren said suddenly. Elsa sucked the bottom one into her mouth automatically, prompting Maren to follow up. “The wine stained them. It’s kind of pretty.” 

“Oh… thank you, I think?” Elsa was unsure if the comment was intended more as a statement or a compliment. She could see Maren was still staring at her lips, and she set her empty wine glass off the side of the blankets, feeling her heart begin to pound. As she returned to her previous position she noticed Maren's gaze had strayed downward, raking over her body. The wine made her feel warm, but the look to Maren made her feel hot. She took a deep breath, settling the magic that was starting to awaken inside her as her nerves kicked in over being looked at so intently. As royalty, both her and Anna were expected to keep slim, and it had led to a variety of anxieties for both sisters. Maren seemed to catch the change in breathing and blinked twice, returning her eyes to Elsa's face, guilt plain across her features.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” 

“You didn’t.” It wasn’t a lie, she may have felt a little self conscious under her gaze, but overall she was finding she enjoyed the attention from Honeymaren. “It’s nice… to be looked at the way you look at me. It makes me feel… I don’t know. Attractive?”

Maren laughed quietly. 

“You do realise you’re gorgeous right? Half the Northuldra men have crushes on you.” Elsa frowned at that, uncertain. “I’m very lucky…” 

Elsa felt the words wash over her, the very idea that Maren thought she was _lucky_ to be able to date her seeming so unreal. She looked between Marens eyes, seeing the adoration clear as day. With a smile she pushed forward, Maren seeing the move and meeting her half way. They kissed softly, chaste. 

Maren pulled away, but seemed to linger before doing so. Elsa watched her take a deep breath, eyes closed, and swallow thickly, before finally opening them. She looked deeply into the russet eyes, noticing that her pupils were much bigger than usual. Elsa leaned back in, hovering her face inches from Maren's, but the other woman didn’t move in to meet her. She registered with curiosity that Maren seemed to be holding her breath, concentrating almost indecipherable. Eventually she did close the distance to meet Elsa, kissing her just as chastely as the first time. 

It was nice, and Elsa enjoyed it immensely, but she could see Maren was holding back. 

“Honey?” She asked after pulling away again. The pet name came out without thinking, and she felt a small flip in her stomach at the way it sounded. Maren’s breathing stuttered. “I know you’re letting me set the pace, but you can kiss me properly. I’m in control.” 

Whether it was from the wine, or just trust in her, she wasn’t sure, but Maren didn’t wait for a second confirmation before pushing forward again, pressing her lips much more forcefully against Elsa's. It still wasn’t hard, but the soft carefulness was gone, replaced instead with a passion to drink in her very being the same way Elsa had drank the wine, deeply and until intoxicated. Pressing back into the kiss with just as much feeling, she felt Maren hum into her lips. The hand on her hip came up to lay on her cheek, the tips of Maren’s fingers curling under her jawline. They pulled her even closer, prompting Maren to finally deepen the kiss, opening her mouth slowly against Elsa's and leading her to do the same. They moved slowly, but pressed firmly against each other, until Maren sucked lightly as she pressed into the kiss, the action gently pulling Elsa's bottom lip in between hers. She exhaled forcefully, bringing with it a moan that she hadn’t meant to let escape. 

Maren pulled away a little, the sound dragging her unwillingly out of the trance she was in to check Elsa was okay. She slid a finger over her wine stained lip, trying and failing to tear her eyes away, but Elsa swiftly reached up, gently pulling on her wrist to remove it and reattaching their lips. Maren seemed shocked for a second, taking a moment to respond, but then her hand was on Elsa's hip again, pulling her body closer. They pressed up against each other, and this time it was Maren who moaned, gasping into the kiss at the feel of Elsa's body against hers. Her hand gripped firmly as the kiss increased in speed. The movement of their lips grew hurried, and Elsa found her arm suddenly wrapped around Maren’s back, desperately pulling her closer. She felt Maren roll them slightly, so she was laid partially on top of Elsa, the heat between them burning. Breaking off for a breath, Maren brought her face over to Elsa’s neck, a hot pant of breath landing on the skin there. Desperately trying to control her breathing, Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, letting her head fall back against the floor. Without the usual warning, Maren pressed her lips hotly to the sensitive section of skin behind her jaw and a spike of something shot through her. She squeaked as she felt her magic shoot out from its place in her chest and out through every part of her, instantly throwing a layer of frost against over the floor in a snowflake pattern. 

She pushed Maren away, and the woman removed herself without question, sitting up.

“Its okay. Its okay.” She repeated as Elsa breathed quickly, also righting herself. It was clear that maren wasn’t hurt at all, so Elsa quickly relaxed, but as she took in the state of the room she felt embarrassed. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but whatever it was, she hadn’t seen it coming at all. 

“I’m sorry. I don't know what happened.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're getting there haha I hope you guys like the direction I take this, i've put a lot of thought into how best to go about it without making it unrealistic.   
> *Edit* - Someone pointed out just a minute ago that I wrote one of the lines in a way that made it seem like Maren actually understood what what written on the note, so i've changed that line. Thank you for pointing that out XD
> 
> Safnari - Thank you for commenting on every chapter, I love seeing your name pop up each time :)
> 
> lukesbestmistake - I'm really glad you're enjoying it, and that you feel you can so heavily relate to it! Those kind of comments make me really happy.
> 
> agentbreezy - They are an item now, you got your wish ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

  
  


A forceful banging on her door woke Elsa up the next morning, before the sun had risen in the sky. She had barely roused herself from her deep sleep before the door swung open, making her shoot upright in bed, freezing hand prints onto the sheets. Anna practically bounced inside, jumping onto her bed, still in her nightgown. Kristoff followed lazily behind holding the lantern that lit their way, and Elsa was surprised to see him there, self-consciously bringing the bed sheets up higher over her. Her pink nightgown wasn’t revealing, and she often wore just a nightgown around him, but the action was automatic around anyone who wasn’t Anna. She blinked a few times to clear her head, following with her eyes as Kristoff threw a fresh set of logs onto the embers of the fire, attending to it quickly. Elsa might not be fazed by the cool temperatures of the castle at night, but it was customary to keep rooms warm to fend off the damp, and she was sure Anna and Kristoff more than appreciated the room being warmer now.

“Elsa!” Anna swiftly slipped under the sheets, cuddling up to her sister, and Elsa noticed that although her hair had been tied into a ponytail in an attempt to tame it, it was still a scruffy mess. It was clear she had jumped straight out of bed to come find her the moment she had woken up. Kristoff flopped down on the end of the bed, laying on his side across the width of it.

“Good morning?” She asked, flicking her eyes between the two of them. Kristoff groaned at her, and the disgruntled sound brought a smile to her face. He was just as bad at getting up as Anna, so his appearance at this hour was just as impressive as her sisters; she wondered if they had asked a servant to wake them during their morning rounds, which would happening about now. His unimpressed attitude was relaxing, and Elsa found the ice under her fingers disappearing as quickly as it had formed.

“Tell me everything!” Anna jumped straight in, scooting around slightly so she was facing Elsa, yanking the blankets up further to wrap around them both as best she could.

“Couldn’t this have waited until after breakfast?” Elsa asked, frowning. She didn’t mind her sister being curious, but there was a time and place. And first thing in the morning, in her bed, didn’t seem like the best option.

“No!” Anna’s voice rose in pitch, and Elsa noticed Kristoff roll his eyes, obviously having had the same argument with her just now. “You’re lucky I waited until this morning!” 

“She wanted to stay up late and then pester you when you went to bed.” Kristoff spoke gruffly, the fog of sleep not fully cleared from his throat. 

“Anna…” Elsa started to argue the point, about to reprimand her sister for being so intrusive in her newly formed relationship with Maren, but stopped herself. If she was honest, she knew she needed the help. 

“Soooo…. How did it go?” Anna was practically vibrating on the bed.

“It… was good.” Unaccustomed as she was to this kind of relationship, Elsa really wasn’t sure what else to say. “We went for a ride like you suggested. Maren helped me climb a tree… which sounds less interesting when you say it out loud… The room you prepared was amazing by the way, and Maren definitely had fun...” Elsa paused.

“But?... You didn’t?” Anna deflated, and Elsa’s eyes widened, realising what her words had sounded like. 

“No! I mean, yes… I had fun. Lots of fun. I just… did something stupid and I think I kind of ruined it a bit.” She looked at Kristoff, not wanting to see how saddened Anna must have looked knowing she had messed up such a lovely date idea. Kristoff cocked his head to the side, curious. 

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“I froze the floor.” Elsa stated, bringing her knees closer to her chest and fiddling with the bed covers under her fingers. 

“I thought your powers were getting better? Though I don't think Maren would have cared anyway?” Anna questioned, not understanding why Elsa seemed so distressed. Elsa sighed, dropping her head down to rest on top of her knees. After her accident during their kiss, Maren had suggested they play another game, acting as if nothing untoward had happened. Elsa had almost forgotten about the incident by the time they parted, but the anxiety of it still managed to put a damper on the evening.

“They were. I don’t know what happened! Maren was great about it, but I feel so guilty.” 

“You were probably just nervous. You’ve only been training with Maren for a few days, it's not surprising you're not perfect yet.” Kristoff offered, trying to make her feel better. He scratched at his scalp, ruffling his hair. 

“But I wasn’t nervous, that's the problem. I thought I would be, but I felt totally relaxed.” Elsa looked up, confusion written on her face. 

“What were you doing at the time?” Anna asked, seeming just as confused. She brought a hand up to rest it on top of Elsa's, rubbing it in a soothing motion. 

“We were… kissing and stuff.” She mumbled the words, feeling more than a little awkward. It was un-queenly to speak in such a way, but she was comfortable letting her guard down around them.

There was a pause as the intruders took in her words. 

“Stuff...” Slowly Anna tore her eyes away to look at Kristoff, and he caught her gaze, brows raised. Elsa flicked her eyes between the two of them, not understanding the look passing between them. Anna mouthed a long `oh` and Kristoff started nodding, a small smirk visible. There was a silence as they had an expressive conversation with their eyes and shoulders, seeming to debate something. Elsa was used to understanding what was going on, but their communication went over her head. 

“Why are you looking at each other like that?” She shifted back on the bed, making sure to have her back pushed fully against the pillows, the position comforting. 

“Elsa…” Anna started slowly, having apparently lost whatever argument she had been having with her future husband. From his relieved sigh she assumed it was something she wouldn’t like. “Were you uhh…. Were you… you know, turned on?” Anna cringed at the words, but took a deep breath, continuing to rub patterns over Elsa's knuckles. 

“What?!” Elsa practically squeaked. The words seemed to spear through her stomach, making her queasy. Anna drew her eyebrows together, pulling them up in concern. She swallowed, almost coughing at the action, drawing her hands away from Anna's and tucking them underneath herself. 

“Not  _ that _ kind of stuff!” Her expression pulled into one of intense anxiety, chest feeling tight, breathing immediately getting uneven.

“Elsa? Hey, its okay, take a deep breath.” Anna tried to control the situation, seeing the sudden reaction. Kristoff gave her a warm smile, the stillness of his chest the only sign he had noticed her panic. 

Elsa took a deep breath, the swirling inside her growing stronger. She allowed herself a moment to compose herself, shutting her eyes for one deep breath, focusing on the energy inside and letting it settle. She had gotten the hang of allowing herself to feel an emotion without responding magically to it, which she was entirely thankful to Kristoff and Maren for. Nerves continued to flutter inside her, but the magic lay on standby, waiting on her command rather than acting on its own. 

“I- I don’t know.” She asked as she opened her eyes, voice still higher than usual, but clearly more steady. 

“It  _ sounds _ like maybe you reacted to things getting a bit heated. It’s normal for your body to respond, so maybe yours reacted with… you know, ice.” Anna seemed more than a little uncertain of her words, but whether or not that was out of worry over Elsa's reaction or her own discomfort it wasn’t clear. 

“When things are new it’s way harder to control your reactions.” Kristoff said calmly, nodding. Anna raised an eyebrow at him cockily, scoffing. “What? It’s not my fault men have a harder time hiding it!” 

Elsa groaned, and slammed her head back down onto her knees, cringing.  _ I don’t want to hear this,  _ she thought. Anna and Kristoff were less than subtle about their relationship, which Elsa had gotten used to, but actively  _ talking _ about it was another matter entirely.

“Please stop…” She begged, glancing at the smirking Anna out of the corner of her eye. 

“Sorry, sorry…” Kristoff said, with a guilty look at Elsa. 

“So what kind of kiss  _ was _ it then?” Anna asked curiously, and Elsa felt her mouth drop open at the question. 

“Anna, i’m not going to tell my  _ baby sister _ abou-”

“Oh shush, I don’t care. Maybe for a normal pair of siblings it would be strange, but most people don’t shoot ice around the room when they get aroused so...” She pinned Elsa with a pointed look, leaving no room for an argument. 

“Oh my god…” Elsa whispered, wishing she could sink into the bed and fade into oblivion. This was  _ not _ a conversation she wanted to be having, but it didn’t seem like she was going to be left much choice. Plus, when she thought about it, this was probably only going to lead to more issues between her and Maren, so it was important for her to face this head on rather than let it fester like she had before. She sighed into her knees. 

“We…” Anna sat up straighter, looking excited. It only made Elsa cringe more. “We’d had a bit to drink, so it did get a little… `heated`... I suppose.” With each word she felt the heat crawling up her chest, past the edge of her nightgown and onto her neck. She was sure by the end of this conversation she would be somewhat akin to a tomato. “I think- I mean she did… she kissed my neck a bit.” The heat tingled onto her cheeks, heart pounding deafeningly in her ears. 

Anna bounced with happiness, her uncertainty about the conversation having dissipated. 

“Oh Elsa! This is fantastic, it’s even better than I hoped.” Elsa was lost. She knew that her sister was much less reserved when it came to matters of a… more intimate manner, but this took it to a new level. Surely Anna couldn’t have been  _ hoping  _ things would take that kind of turn? That was definitely out of Elsa's comfort range.

“What do you mean, `better than you hoped`?”

“I thought maybe you’d finally talk about your feelings, but for it to go that well… I’m so proud of you!” Anna's smile was huge, and Elsa breathed a sigh of embarrassed relief. Suddenly, she realised she hadn’t told them about her and Marens conversation yet.

“Actually, we did talk about that. She asked me out… officially.”

If an exploding volcano could be moulded into the shape of a small red haired girl, that would be what Anna turned into after hearing those words. She threw herself on her sister, wrapping her arms around her neck and pushing her forcefully against the headboard. It knocked the breath out of Elsa, but she released a chuckle as she returned the affection, amused by her sisters excitement. She felt her body relax under the squeezing of Annas arms around her. After the stress of everything that had happened, sitting there in Anna supportive arms, knowing she was now officially in a romantic relationship with Maren… she couldn’t have imagined a better outcome. Well, perhaps one without the newly concerning idea that if her and Maren ever tried to take things further she might freeze the whole castle. 

Her smile faded at the idea, nerves returning. Right now she was terrified, and a little confused about what taking things further might entail, but she hoped that if she  _ wanted _ to go there with Maren she would at least be able to entertain the idea without losing control again. To have gotten so far with controlling her fears, only to have to go back to step one again frustrated her. She swallowed down her nerves, delicately pushing Anna back up. Kristoff saw the look on her face, lip drawn into her mouth, brows creased, and sat himself up too, eyes much more awake than before. He adjusted his dressing gown, crossing his arms over his stomach. It appeared the palace food was being enjoyed a little too much recently, if the tight fit of the fabric was anything to go by. 

“If you’re right about my powers. Which i’m  _ not _ saying you are...what do I do? I’m not ready to go there yet but I can’t keep freezing things every time we get remotely… physical.” Her jaw was set, the clenching of her teeth combating the trembling inside her chest. 

“Well, things get easier the more experienced you get,” Kristoff took over from his fiancee, which Elsa was grateful for, “but you’ll need to figure out a way of dealing with it until then.” He grew distracted, lost in thought. Both girls sat side by side, waiting for him to continue, knowing this habit of his well enough. He squinted at the bed covers, lips moving in a strange variety of expressions. 

“You said you froze the floor right, but nothing else?” He asked, and Elsa sighed at his words, nodding.

“It was like a burst of energy around me. It wasn’t like anything I've felt before.” She tried her best to explain in a way that would make sense to them. On more than one occasion Elsa had tried to explain how it felt to use magic to Anna, her questions about it endless after she had found out about her powers, but it never really worked. 

“Maybe it's a different kind of reaction? It might not be dangerous if it's just a mild magical release?” Anna looked at Kristoff, who nodded to himself as he spoke. 

“Your magic is definitely different depending on what emotion fuels it: If you’re scared or defensive it's more violent, if you're sad you tend to change the weather, when you jump or react suddenly to something you freeze a patch under your hands. Maybe when you feel  _ that _ way you just send a burst of magic out into the floor?” Anna contemplated the theory, and Elsa found herself lowering her legs to cross them in front of her, curious about this train of thought. 

“I mean, it's not quite that clean cut but yes. The more negative the emotion the worse the reaction.” Elsa knew her magic did have a pattern. It wasn’t always perfect, as she usually held more than one emotion at a time, especially if her magic was as out of control as it had been recently. The mess of fears and sadness and longing had made it very unpredictable. 

“Well… there’s only one way to find out.” Kristoff said, and Elsa felt the redness that had been receding from her face grow stronger once again. 

“I don’t know if I’d be comfortable repeating last night without being sure I’m not going to suddenly hurt Maren. The whole point of learning meditation was to prevent this kind of thing happening. Surely I can find a way of controlling it when we’re…” She waved a hand in the air, not wanting to say anymore. 

“No Elsa,” Anna said forcefully, “no more forcing down your emotions. Meditation allows you to stop your magic immediately reacting, but you can't just turn off the good emotions. It’s not healthy. Just take it slow, let yourself get used to it, and if anything happens then we’ll be here to help you. Please Elsa, don’t let this get in the way of you enjoying your relationship.” 

The pleading look on her sisters face made her smile lovingly, and Elsa gripped Anna's hands with hers. 

“Okay.” 

She meant it. She had worked hard to get to a point where she was comfortable again after the mess that was the past few weeks, and she wasn’t about to give it up without a fight. Maybe Kristoff was right, if a positive emotion fuelled the magic it might not be dangerous? She thought back to kissing Maren, how she had accidentally stopped the snow, and wondered. Her feelings at the time had been warm, affectionate. It was common for emotions like that to thaw ice she had created, so it made sense that she clouds had parted. She thought next about the type of ice she created when she first realised she had feelings for Maren, the slow creeping of anxiety bringing the temperature down and creating slow crawling tendrils of ice from her hands and feet. When she had let Maren kiss her that first night, she had thrown a layer of frost around the room at the touch of Maren's tongue on her lip. 

Her brain lingered for a moment on that. She remembered the feeling distinctly, the shot of fear and… now that she thought about it, pleasure, at the sensation. It was similar, the way she had created frost instead of sheer ice, forming on the floor and walls instead of creating a physical form of its own like her powers often did. The frost had definitely been much more violent, but with the amount of fear and panic she felt at the time it wasn’t really surprising. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was a place to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really struggling to pick which of the three potential directions I had planned to take this in. I finally feel like I've got a great couple of chapters planned out, so I'm excited to write them an get your ideas. I've been waiting for ages to be able to get to the winter solstice chapter, which is next, so fingers crossed it goes down well! 
> 
> pliskopova - There's plenty more kissing to come. Its surprisingly fun to write those scenes.
> 
> Arlnoff - I really need to know the joke... don't leave me hanging XD
> 
> all you thirsty bitches - I've seen a lot of screaming in the comments section over the make out, which makes me laugh. Hold on to your bras because its only going to get hotter. There is a rather lovely piece of fanart waiting to be posted of the... final scene ;)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Elsa felt relieved to be going back to Northuldra. Arendelle would always be home to her, but the forest felt comforting in a different way; her spirit felt like it belonged. As Ryder, Maren, and Elsa came to a stop just shy of the forest, the herd of reindeer behind them, she smiled. There was a giddy excitement in her, and her body felt full of unrestrained magic. The floor was lined with a thick layer of snow, the trees in front of them blanketed in white, their mottled, pale bark blending in beautifully. The whole landscape practically shimmered, and Elsa felt a tingle inside her, the icy magic reacting merrily to the snowy scene. 

She felt a laugh bubble up as she trotted forward on her reindeer, overtaking the siblings and circling around one of the four large rocks. Ryder grinned at her as she rounded the back of it to face them again, her free hair blowing to the side as a slight breeze washed over them. He chased after her, and as they passed over into Northuldra Gale spun around them in welcome, almost lifting Elsa off of the reindeer. 

“Nice to see you again too, Gale.” She greeted the air spirit, laughing. Ryder pinned his hat down on his head, trying to stop it being taken away by the mischievous wind. They caught each other's eye, wearing matching smiles of joy. Despite enjoying the lush life of the royal palace, Ryder and Maren were Northuldra by heart as well as blood, and the familiarity of the trees and the smell of the crisp winter air suited them much more. 

“Ah!” Maren's high squeak sounded from behind them, and Elsa whipped round to check on her. She had been trailing a little behind them, but as soon as she caught up Gale had jumped on her. Now she was hovering above the ground, braid dangling behind her as Gale bounced her in a laid back position, her reindeer having taken a few steps away in concern. The look of horror on Marens face was amusing, and Elsa felt giggle form. She had been back for all of a few minutes and she was already so happy. 

“Put her down Gale.” Elsa said, but the wind spirit ignored her, blowing the Northdra woman over the short distance and dropping her unceremoniously onto the back of Elsa's reindeer. Maren squeaked again, gripping her legs around the animal to stop herself being picked up once more. Automatically, she wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist, holding on tightly. It made her jump a little, the warm pressure of Maren's gloved hands unexpected, but the touch was welcomed. Gale circled around them both, excitable. 

“She bought me back like you asked. But now I'm sure she’d appreciate you leaving her alone.” She raised an eyebrow, lips quirking. The wind died down and then stopped, letting Maren breathe a loud sigh of relief.

“So much for that apology I was hoping for…” Maren huffed, leaning her forehead on Elsa's shoulder. “I’m not sure how much I like the Spirits now I know what they’re really like.” Elsa laughed at her obvious discomfort. She had been given a better explanation about the antics the Spirits had pulled to get Maren to bring her back again, and obviously their continued attention made Maren more than a little nervous. Elsa couldn’t help but wonder how much the Spirits knew about her feelings for Maren; her magic was connected to them, but she wasn’t sure if that meant they could sense her actual thoughts and feelings. However, their choice to send Maren after her spoke volumes of a deeper knowledge, and the way Gale seemed to take pleasure in pushing them together was certainly curious. Ryder's sigh caught their attention, and they noticed him watching them dopily. 

“You two are cute.” 

At that, Maren seemed to realise the position they were in, and loosened her arms, chuckling nervously. Elsa had made sure not to let her concerns over the future furthering of their relationship get in the way, but she had made sure to avoid too much physical interaction. They hadn’t discussed it, but Maren didn’t seem to mind that Elsa would pull away first when they kissed, having only been dating officially for a few days. She didn’t seem in any hurry to take things further than soft kisses and occasionally a slightly wandering hand, which Elsa was thankful for. She knew they would need to talk about it all eventually, so Maren didn’t feel like she had done something wrong, but she had been avoiding the conversation. 

“Heh, sorry…” Maren’s shoulders bunched up as she pulled her arms away, but Elsa quickly let go of the reigns, grabbing her hands before they fully removed themselves. She wrapped them loosely around her midriff again, holding her breath to stay in control of her nerves. 

“Its okay, it’s nice.” Elsa used a gentle tone, smiling lightly as she turned her head to look at Maren from over her shoulder.

“Well you better get used to it… your reindeer is gone.” Ryder said with a chuckle, pointing to where the herd had been. They seemed to have immediately realised they were home, and without a Spirit forcing them to follow Maren they were happy to leave. Ryder prompted his reindeer to follow after them, needing to make sure they got back safely. His commitment to the safety of the reindeer was sweet, and Elsa could see how he and Kristoff got along so well.

“Uh… not fair.” Maren seemed less than pleased at the apparent traitorous actions of the animals, but slowly shifted forward on Elsa's reindeer anyway, settling in against her back.

“If you’d prefer me to summon Nokk I can?” She asked, not wanting to make her girlfriend uncomfortable.

“No.” She said quickly, eyes widening. “No, I’d love to ride with you.” Elsa smiled at her and nodded fractionally, turning to follow after Ryder.

When they finally got to the village the people were ecstatic, gathering around them immediately. Elsa suddenly felt nervous; they would want to know why she left in the first place… and then technically stole Maren and Ryder and twenty of their reindeer too. 

“Elsa?” Maren whispered from behind her, and her breath hitched at the closeness of it. “Do you want me to move my arms now?” 

Elsa didn’t say anything for second, the question settling heavily as she realised the depth to it. The position was telling of their relationship, even if not obviously. Maren was asking her if she wanted to keep their relationship a secret or not. She looked over the people around them, one or two of them clearly having noticed the way Maren was wrapped around her. Her stomach lurched. She had come to terms with the idea that being interested in women was okay, but having everyone know about it was another matter entirely. It had been clear at the castle that the servants and guards had figured out they were romantically involved, but they were still a part of her home. She wasn’t sure why it changed things, but it did. 

“I-” She swallowed, consciously taming her magic as it jumped wildly inside her. She caught it before it went out of control, but small spirals of ice crept up the reigns. 

“Don’t let go.” She said finally, heart hammering in her chest. The words were weighted.  _ I don’t want to hide my feelings. I’m scared. Don’t let me go. I need you. _

Maren sensed the emotions behind the words, whether that was from the wavering tone they were spoken in, or the rigid posture Elsa had. She tightened her arms momentarily, a display of comfort. Just then Yelana came into view, a wide smile on her face. 

“Elsa, you’ve returned! Maren worked her magic I see.” Yelana flicked her eyes down to the hands clasped just above Elsa's belly button, but didn’t say anything more. Elsa felt a little of the tension in her back lessen as their relationship wasn’t brought into question. She wasn’t going to hide anything, but having to confirm it in front of that many people terrified her. She felt mostly in control, but it was taking a fair amount of effort to keep it that way.

Maren swiftly jumped off of the reindeer, and helped Elsa down, running a hand down her arm as she settled onto the floor. It made Elsa shiver, the small distance between them feeling heated as they stood there in the crowd. The moment only lasted a second or two, and seemed to go unnoticed by everyone except Yelana. There was an almost indistinguishable smile on her face, mostly given away by the slight squint of her eyes. Elsa felt her heart flutter and she looked at the floor. She didn’t feel guilty, or wrong anymore, but the rawness of emotions centred around Maren made her feel vulnerable. 

“I wanted to make sure Elsa got to experience the festival. How are the preparations going?” 

Maren looked around, and Elsa's attention was suddenly drawn to the surrounding area. She hadn’t noticed at first just  _ how many _ people there were around. She may have only lived there for a short while, but she was certain there were not this many living in this village. She recognised an older man sat next to the fire as one she had spoken to from the northernmost village and realised that this festival must gather all of the villages into one place. People were dressed in their usual clothes, but many of them had already donned rings of greenery on their heads, and some of the children had masks on. Maren had refused to explain much about their traditions, telling her it was best to experience it first hand. Nervous excitement filled her as she realised this was obviously much more like a party than she had realised. Anna would be jealous that she wasn’t able to come. 

“They’re going well! The Drengr and Tresort village brought most of the materials down for us. The fire is built, and the decorations are going up now.” Yelana informed Maren.

“Perfect, sundown is still a few hours away so there’s plenty of time. I’m going to ta-” A quiet gurgling was heard, and suddenly Bruni launched at Maren, landing neatly on her chest. He wiggled his tail, before bursting into flames in excitement. “Ah!” Maren yelped, pulling Bruni off of her chest before he set fire to her clothes, and holding him out in front of her. Luckily his fire was small, and she was able to hold him on her gloves without burning anything. 

“Hey little guy. You and Gale are determined to do away with me, aren't you? He gurgled loudly, sticking his tongue out. 

“Hello Bruni.” Elsa said, leaning in to smile at him. He whipped his head round to face her, padding his feet excitedly on Maren's gloves. “Did you miss us?” He gurgled and licked his eye. 

“This little fire spirit has been making a fuss ever since you left. It’s rather strange to see the Spirits interacting with us so much now.” Yelana said.

The lifting of the fog had obviously taken some getting used to for the Northuldra people. They had been careful about the Spirits before, especially the earth giants, but now that balance was back they had created a mutually beneficial relationship. Once again could the Northuldra use the Spirits to help them with tasks, and the Spirits were stronger and freer than before. 

“You should have seen him after you left,” Maren said to Elsa, “he wouldn’t leave me alone.” 

“He likes you.” Elsa laughed, and Bruni span in circles in agreement. 

***

The sun retreated behind the horizon earlier than ever, sending the forest into what should have been darkness. However, with the festival now fully underway, the trees were lit by glowing lanterns, and there was a giant fire that cast a flickering yellow light across the peoples faces. Almost every child now had a mask on, and they had participated in some kind of show just before the sun went down, which Elsa didn’t fully understand but had found very sweet. Now they played by the fire, laughing loudly and fighting over small wooden figures. The adults were mingling, drinking a sweet ale and feasting on the roasting meats and fruits that had been stored especially for this event. 

Elsa was surprisingly comfortable. At parties in Arendelle she often felt out of place, like eyes were always watching her, but here everyone was wrapped up with their families, having fun. A lot of people had greeted her when Maren had led them through the throng of people to watch the play, but their warm smiles and heartfelt words of welcome felt genuine. She wasn’t a queen, or a princess here. The fifth Spirit yes, but that somehow felt much less imposing on her than her former titles. 

Elsa sipped at the ale as she sat on a log, taking a minute to herself. Maren had gone with Ryder to speak to some family friends, and had offered for Elsa to join, but she had refused, wanting to bask in the atmosphere for a while. The amber liquid wasn’t unpleasant, but she could see why Maren had found wine a stark difference if this was what she was used to. 

“Are you ready for the main part of the festival?” Yelana asked, sitting down next to her, a gracefulness to her that reminded Elsa of her mother. It was a wise calmness, like she understood more than she seemed to say. 

“What do you mean?” She had thought the festival was already in full swing. 

“There is more to this night than just eating and drinking and plays. The Solstice is important to us, as people of the Sun. It’s the time when the Sun regenerates itself, and we follow her lead, moving forward into new versions of ourselves for the year ahead.” She smiled up at the stars. Elsa followed her eyes, taking in the stillness above them, contrasting heavily to the hustle of the festival. 

“Oh… I didn’t realise.” Elsa felt a pushing in her chest, the concept of what she was being a part of overwhelming her. 

“Everyone goes through their own personal journey during the Solstice. It’s a time of reflection and growth. In Northuldra we participate in many festivities, over a few days. Tonight we will be performing a group meditation, to guide each other through the process of letting go of the past walking into the future. Would you care to join us?” When Elsa looked back at Yelana, wide eyed, the short woman was already watching her with a careful gaze. Something about the curious green eyes struck her speechless. 

“I-uh…” Her magical shimmered, tingling through her body. It was an unusual sensation, to feel so strongly lulled into comfort by someone. She could see why Yelana was revered by so many of the tribe. She swallowed, trying to blink herself free form the intense eye contact. She would swear Yelana could see every one of her secrets just by glancing at her once. 

“I would like that.” She said eventually. Yelana smiled, and nodded. 

“Ryder mentioned earlier that he tried to teach you some meditation techniques.” The older woman laughed. “You might have done better learning from Honeymaren to start with. Ryder was never very good at searching the soul.” 

“He did his best. But yes, Maren was far better at teaching me… She’s taught me a lot recently.” Elsa looked out as spotted the woman in question, laughing joyously with her brother and a couple of other people a bit older than them. Seeing Maren back in Northuldra made her feelings for her even stronger. Something about seeing her there, lit by the fire, surrounded by wildlife, just made sense, and Elsa felt her heart skip a beat at the sight. 

“It would appear so…” Yelana said. “Hopefully she has taught you enough.” There was a seriousness to her tone that made Elsa's eyebrows draw together, eyes lingering on her girlfriend as she turned to face Yelana once again. 

“How do you mean?” She asked.

“Honeymaren is a special girl. She has always had a deep connection with the Earth, the Sun, and the Spirits too, even before we were at peace with them. You can see now how they enjoy her company. One day she will become the leader of Northuldra, I have no doubt. However, she is still young, fragile, and she is risking much by opening up her heart to you. You are powerful, brave, and you obviously care deeply for Honeymaren, but your mind is conflicted. You gave in to your fears once already, but you were only risking yourself then. Doing it again now that you hold Honeymaren's heart would be far more damaging. I only hope you have learnt enough to not hurt her.”

Elsa didn’t dare to breathe. The words hit her like a smack in the face, and a cold sweat broke out over her skin. Yelana was right, it wasn’t just her on the line now. If she couldn’t control her magic, or her anxieties about it all, she had the power to break Maren's heart as well as her own. It felt just as terrifying as the idea of freezing her heart. She realised quickly that whether she stayed and hurt Maren with her ice, or left and broke her heart, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. 

She realised that she had been silent for a good minute, staring at the floor. Looking over to Maren, she felt a deep pang in her chest. It almost hurt, and she subconsciously brought a hand up to the area. 

“I don’t want to hurt her.” She frowned. “I don’t think I could bare it.” The words were so quiet they were almost a whisper. She caught Yelana’s eye, who staring deeply into hers, finding the truth behind the icy blue. 

“This festival will be good for you. Let go of your past, Elsa.” She stood, a soft grunt escaping her. “Let your heart lead you into a brighter future. For both of you.” She walked away as she spoke, leaving Elsa staring after her, heart pounding. She stayed for a moment, contemplating the words Yelana had left her with. 

_ A brighter future _ … she thought. What was it she wanted in that future? Anna and Kristoff happily married, maybe with a family of their own. Her powers under control, leaving her free to explore the world without fear. Maren… Holding Maren's hand as they visited Arendelle, laughing with her as they built a hut together to share, kissing her under the stars without worry of being seen. 

Yelana had a way with words that inspired action, and Elsa felt herself stand as if she wasn’t in control of her body. She walked slowly over to Maren and Ryder, smiling delicately when she got close. They turned to her as she appeared next to them, and the others they were talking to smiled at her courteously in greeting. Smoothly, she took a breath and slipped her hand into Marens, linking their fingers, holding the air in her lungs as she smiled back in greeting to their friends. They followed the movement of her hand with their eyes, clearly surprised, but then grinned brightly, looking at Maren in a silent question. Elsa also looked shyly at Maren, whose chest was puffed up with pride, a wide, uncontrolled smile plastered on her face. She seemed to have lost track of their conversation, too busy staring at their intertwined fingers. 

“I’m Elsa, Honeymaren's girlfriend.” She let the breath she was holding rush out of her with the words. They laughed at the introduction.

“We know who you are, though the girlfriend part is new. Congratulations.” 

***

  
  


They were sat cross legged on the floor, crammed together around the fire. Elsa sat between Maren and Ryder, which she was thankful for as the close contact with someone she didn’t know might have taken things a bit too far. There were so many people there, mostly around the large fire in the middle, though a large number of smaller groups were gathered around other fires in the distance. There wasn’t a space you could see where people weren’t sat with their families, all looking relaxed and merry. Elsa felt a little nervous, but the evening had been so much fun that she trusted this to go just as well. 

“Okay, Yelana will walk everyone through it, but basically just follow the same steps as usual and then let yourself do as Yelana asks.” Maren rubbed a hand over Elsa's knee in comfort. 

Gentle drums began to play, and Elsa took a deep breath to relax herself. 

“Welcome, all. Tonight, as the Sun takes a much needed rest and returns anew, we will follow its lead. Rebirth under the moon’s glow, and step together into a new year. This year has been more significant than many others, with the fog lifting, and the Spirits becoming one with us.” A gust of wind blew around Yelana, making her smile at Gales attempt to join in. “Letting go of the past will be difficult, but looking forward to the future, and the happiness this will bring us will be freeing. See past who you were, and step into who you will become.” She looked at Elsa as she spoke the words, and a fluttering of nervous excitement awoke from within her. The stillness of the night was both comforting and ominous at the same time, which unsettled her mildly. It was almost dead on midnight, and it surprised her how warm the area was being kept by the fire and the sheer amount of bodies around them. Yelana nodded to the crowd. 

“Close your eyes, follow the steps.” Maren quickly whispered, with a final squeeze of her knee. Elsa breathed slowly, focusing on the movement, and allowed her eyes to slide shut. She smelt the roasted meats, tasted the remnants of the ale, felt the heat searing her skin from the fire. Her magic was much more active here, knowing it was close to its origins.  _ Settle down… _ she spoke sternly to it, quickly forming the baby reindeer, who bounced like Bruni did when he was happy. She bit her lip, holding back a chuckle, and with another breath it stilled. Eventually she felt herself fully submit to the calmness.

Yelana spoke to them as they sat in the meditative state, walking them through remembering all they had done over the year. For Elsa it was bittersweet, remembering the wonderful times with Anna and Kristoff and Olaf and Sven, and what she had given up to become the Fifth Spirit, but the feelings warmed her nonetheless. The memories shifted over to hearing the call from Ahtohallan, and following it to find out about her parents true past. It made her sad to remember her parents, but as the images of them as children flashed behind her eyes the sadness felt more manageable. Next came pictures of Kristoff and Anna hugging after he proposed, of Olaf asking about the meaning of life, of Ryder and Maren fighting over a fish they caught. Her mind lingered on the last image, the challenge on Maren's face as she had play fought with her brother captivating her. She remembered being weak for the other woman’s smile even back then, within the first week of her staying here, and realised that maybe her feelings had started brewing much earlier than she had originally thought. 

Yelana instructed them to think about how they had felt today, what they were thankful for, who they loved. Elsa flashed instantly to the awe filled look on Maren’s face the moment she had agreed to enter a relationship with her, and her heart fluttered. She told herself to think about Anna instead, and the red haired queen filled her head, waving her hands in the air as she moaned about something or other. Kristoff's laughing face made an appearance, surprising her for a moment, but she quickly realised that she could no longer visualise her family without him there too. Olaf’s silly antics had her magic fluttering again, and she realised that his entire being was created by that same magic. She thought about how childishly the young reindeer she imagined had been reacting to being nearer to Ahtohallan, and could see the relation. 

When Yelana asked them to think of all the negative things from the year Elsa took a slow breath. There were a lot. The sight of her parents, wrapped up in ice… she wasn’t sure she could let that one go. But she focused instead on the feelings of doubt and anxiety, the fear of her own powers, and the fear of being rejected for liking a woman. They seemed more distant now, but they were still there, like the ashes left in a fireplace after the logs had been burned away. 

“Those negative things have passed now. The memories of them will remain, but you must let them go to move on, having learnt from them. Let the negativity escape you and dissipate into the night. See it happen, feel it leave you.” Yelana said, before going silent. There were a few more moments of silence, where Elsa let let the fear of liking women leave her, letting only the excitement of the future remain. She brought up the feelings of fear about her powers, which were fresher, and told herself she would find a way of working with, not against them, and that she had no reason to be afraid - she let them go. 

“Step with the goddess Beaivi into a new day, stronger, more at peace, and renewed.” Elsa opened her eyes slowly, letting her body slowly awaken itself. Everyone around her was in varying states of coming out of meditation. She looked at Maren, who was already watching her through lidded eyes, breathing slow. They didn’t speak, but Maren softly laid a hand over Elsa's, rubbing it with her thumb. 

The music stopped as the last people awakened fully, and a jolly chatter filled the area. In that moment Elsa felt incredibly relaxed, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write. I had to do a helluva lot of research on the Sami peoples Winter Solstice traditions so it made sense for the Northuldra people to do them. Obviously this is my spin of things so its not accurate, but the idea behind it is pretty close. I know the creators of Frozen worked hard to make the Northuldra as accurate as they could, so I didn't want to ruin that by making up a load of stuff. 
> 
> commander__raccoon - Thank you so much! I would love to go into more of Ryder and Annas relationship, however i'm getting to the point where things will be a little more Elsa/Maren focused, so unfortunately that might not happen. But we can imagine haha
> 
> Riraito - I've been reading your comments as you post them today, and it's been great. I'm glad you're enjoying it :)
> 
> Palo - That would be a great idea XD Its certainly something that would happen later on.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

  
  


Elsa tugged on Marens hand, leading her away from the group. It was early morning now, and most children and been sent to bed, whilst the festivities continued for the adults. The tone had changed after the meditation, the playful air replaced with fascination as tales were told by the elders. The stories were incredible, but all Elsa could think about was Maren. They were both wearing garlands of leaves, and Maren had a soot stripe painted on each cheek thanks to a couple of playful children. It was cute, and Elsa had to fight the urge to kiss her in front of everyone. If she knew her body wouldn’t betray her and send a fresh layer of snow across the ground she might have done that anyway, but she didn’t want to risk it. Her palm warm in hers, Elsa led them towards her own hut, hoping for a bit of privacy. Maren laughed with her as they jogged through the crowd, not worried by the suggestive looks they were getting. 

Reaching the hut, Maren seemed to suddenly realise where they were, and her laugh faltered, but she let Elsa lead her through the entrance. Once inside, Maren stood stock still, still occasionally giggling, and squeezed their joined hands. Her hair was a bit messy, with patches yanked from the braid after having run around with the children and play fighting with Ryder a few times, and Elsa felt her lips draw up even further at the sight. It was clear to Elsa that Maren was nervous, as was she, but she stepped in closer anyway, sliding her other hand up to pull Maren's braid out of its bindings. Her hat had come off a while ago, so it was easy to shake the braid loose, letting the thick hair cascade down her back. She kept some of it wrapped around her fingers, and watched as she drew it forward to come across Maren's shoulder, down to her chest. 

She heard Maren's breathing catch as her hand came to rest there, sitting just above her breast, the garland tickling the back of her hand. One of the darker woman’s hands came to graze against the back of her forearm, and Elsa shivered at the light contact. Maren waited for a second, holding her breath as if waiting for the inevitable rejection, but seeing the hint of eagerness glistening in Elsa’s eyes, she gently stroked her fingers up to her elbow, and up further still to her bicep, before running it along her stark collar bone. Maren couldn’t help the smirk when she heard the intake of breath, giving her permission to trail her hand back down to rest on her waist. They had yet to let go of their clasped hands, as if it was the only thing keeping them grounded, and Elsa was thankful for it. She let Maren pull her closer, so their chests were pressed against each other, and Elsa looked into Marens eyes, the warm breath on her cheek setting her heart pounding. There was a question in Maren's eyes as they flickered down to her lips. The act of leading them into her private space screamed of an intimacy they were not quite ready for, which Elsa knew both of them were aware of. Maren had obviously been conscious that Elsa had been trying to keep her distance from this kind of interaction after the events a couple of days ago, and didn’t want to push her luck by starting something by accident. Elsa gave her hand a gentle squeeze, starting to lean in.

Cautiously, Maren closed the distance, pressing their lips together as their eyes slid shut. It was slow, but there was a depth to the movement that was new. There was a lingering taste of the sweet ale on Maren's lips, and Elsa suddenly found that she liked the flavour a bit more. She deepened the kiss, tilting her head a little more to allow for them to get even closer. The hand on her waist gripped firmer, trying to pull her forward, but there was no more room to give. They continued to kiss for a bit longer, growing breathless with every second that passed. 

Like the first time they had kissed, Maren stopped her movements to run her tongue along Elsa's lower lip, but this time Elsa didn’t push her away, instead opening up to it and meeting it with her own. They touched briefly, the heat of the action surprising her, and then sending a thrill through her, before Maren kissed her lower lip again. There was an added desperation to their movements after that, bodies leaning into each other as they pressed their lips needily together.

Elsa's hand slipped into Maren's hair, fingertips grazing across her neck as they moved. A moan broke free from Maren, and her head dropped forward slightly, separating their lips. She breathed out hotly, pressing her forehead against Elsa's. 

Magic shot through her, along with a spike of heat that settled in her abdomen. She gasped and opened her eyes. She pulled away just enough to look down, seeing a large patch of frost under her feet, but nothing else more worrying. Unfortunately, the visual of Maren practically panting as she stared longingly at Elsa's lips, the ashy lines on her cheeks smudged, didn’t help at all, and a second pang of want flooded her. Her eyes were open, as were Maren’s, and they both saw the frost shoot a metre or so further. Elsa bit her lip  _ hard _ , hard enough to hurt. The pain distracted her from the arousing sight in front of her, and after swallowing down a moan and taking a steadying breath the frost started to recede. 

The melting frost made her sigh in relief. She was by no means calm, her heart still beating wildly, but she had still managed to claw back a modicum of control. 

“Elsa?” Maren asked, squeezing the hand that was still interlinked with hers. She seemed to be able to read the emotions written plainly on her face, but seemed uncertain how to act on them. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah.” A laugh bubbled up in her throat as the word came out, and she didn’t fight it. Maren took a small step backwards, removing the hand on her waist to touch the back of Elsa’s that hand returned to lay gently on chest once more, before bringing it down to hold at their side like their other hands were doing. She frowned in concern at her girlfriend, not understanding what was going through Elsa's head.

“What’s going on?” She asked. Elsa realised that as far as Maren was concerned, ice meant she wasn’t okay, and hurried to explain herself.

“I create frost… when I get turned on…” She said, still giggling a little. It was embarrassing, and she felt the flush crawl up her neck, but she was past the point of trying to hide it from Maren. The meaning behind her words seemed to get lost, and Maren simply blinked at her for a moment, before she finally realised what she was saying.

“When you… you’re… fuck.” Maren exhaled, long and hot, and her eyes flicked down Elsa's body, biting her lip. She swallowed, and Elsa saw the fight take place in her eyes to calm herself down. It was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one reacting to the situation. “So back in Arendelle…?” 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, eyes flicking away in embarrassment, “turns out my neck is sensitive. Sorry.” She chuckled once.

“Don’t apologise.” She said quickly, smiling.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how to deal with it, but Kristoff and Anna are convinced that it’s okay. Its created by a positive emotion instead of a negative one so it shouldn’t be harmful. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping.” Maren nodded at the explanation, but a grimace formed a few seconds later. 

“Wait… you told your sister that you got turned on?” Elsa groaned, and the blush on her pale cheeks burned brighter.

“Actually she kind of told  _ me _ .” She admitted, not catching Maren's eye. “I’ve uh, never felt like that before.” Maren's mouth dropped open comically. 

“Never? But… you’re twenty-four, surely at some point…?” 

“You underestimate how traumatic my teenage years were. I wasn’t allowed to feel  _ anything _ in case I hurt someone.” Maren frowned and led them over to the bed, sitting her down. 

“Elsa, that’s a pretty key area of development to go through.” She pushed a stray strand of white hair behind Elsa's ear. 

“I’m not saying I’ve never felt  _ something _ , but it wasn’t like this. Having something happen in real life is very different from skim reading it in a book… I didn’t know I would respond like that.” Elsa looked up shyly into Maren's eyes.

“I assumed you hadn’t had sex before, but I take it that means you’ve also never…umm.” The frown on Maren’s face was replaced by an embarrassed smile, as she flicked her eyes down to Elsa's lap awkwardly. The question was obvious, making Elsa visibly cringe. Talking to Anna about being aroused was awful, but this was just as bad. She tried to form the words to reply to her, but settled for shaking her head delicately, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. 

Maren looked at the floor for a moment, her brows drawing together in contemplation.

“That’s okay. Obviously, we’ve only been dating for a few days so there’s no rush anyway, but it does change things a little.” She brushed the back of her fingers over Elsa's hot cheeks, smiling lovingly at her. Elsa met the Northuldra’s tawny eyes, amazed by the complete lack of annoyance in her face and voice. She had never thought it would bother Maren to have to take it slow, but finding such care in her expression after talking about her lack of experience made her melt. 

“You’ll need to be more vocal about what I can and can’t do though, okay? I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for.”

Before she could even think, her body was moving, surging forward to plant her a kiss on Maren's soft smile, her hand reaching up to cup her cheek. Maren fell back with the suddenness of it, her hand falling to catch herself, before returning it to caress Elsa’s shoulder. Elsa’s lips were forceful but slow, filled with the emotions her body couldn’t contain. Maren's grip on her shoulder tightened as the kiss gradually grew more passionate, and Elsa felt the woman pull her forward slightly before stopping, and pushing her away. 

Elsa sat back in her previous position, realising that that may not have been the best idea, all things considered. Marens eyes were dark, her breathing once again unsteady, and her lips parted as if waiting for more. It wasn’t as heated as their previous kiss, but the feeling behind it had left them both more than a little flustered. 

“You’re going to need to stop doing that if you want me to keep a handle on myself, Snowflake.” Maren said with a stunted chuckle, swallowing. Elsa watched her knuckles tighten in the sheets as if she were fighting to keep them away from her. 

“Sorry,” she tucked her hair behind her ears, before crossing her feet and pinning her hands between her thighs, shoulders bunched up by her ears. 

She may have no actual experience, but she was a grown woman, and her body knew that. It was confusing for her. On one hand she felt like a teenager experiencing a crush for the first time, the fluttering of nerves and uncertainty about how to act not dissimilar to those she had felt around Rhea. On the other, the maturity gained from having been a queen for three years pushed her to want a healthy, long lasting relationship, where Maren would be a confidant and a friend, as well as a lover. But on the face of it… her body wanted Maren in a much more physical sense that defied any rational thought. Even now she felt herself being pulled towards her, the need for just one more touch daring her to lean over.

_ I wonder if this is what Olaf feels like _ … she wondered briefly, as the conflicting childish and adult views on her relationship made her frown. 

“So the frost… that’s okay?” Maren seemed unsure of herself, which Elsa understood. Her powers were a mystery, even to her most of the time. She was certainly starting to understand more about them by spending time near Atohallan, and since meditating with Maren she was definitely learning more about their personality, but it was confusing nonetheless. 

“I think so. When I get more used to the feeling I don’t think I’ll respond as much… though I’m not completely sure. I-” She considered the next words carefully, knowing where they would lead the conversation. “If we…  _ when _ we do go further… I don’t know how I’ll react. From what I’ve read in my novels it seems like it could be dangerous for me.” 

Elsa had read a  _ lot  _ of novels in her time, and a few of them had contained scenes of a more intimate nature. She had also found Anna’s collection of much more racy fictitious works by accident once, and from what she gained from them it sounded like people tended to lose control of themselves during sex. In her personal experience, losing control was never a good thing, and she was worried about what might happen. She was almost glad she  _ didn’t _ know too much about it, as it meant she couldn’t get overly worried about certain details. 

“Hmm,” Maren hummed, nodding her head slightly, the action clearly out of thought rather than agreeing with her. “I mean, if the frost you make when you’re turned on isn’t dangerous then I doubt anything else would be, but it is something we’ll have to bear in mind. Maybe…” Her voice wavered and she coughed, making Elsa’s brows arch in curiosity. She couldn’t help but stare at the little freckles on her cheeks, still covered in the smudges of soot. She wanted to kiss them, but restrained herself. 

“Maybe you should… experiment a bit.” Maren seemed to struggle to get the words out, fidgeting from her place on the bed. At first Elsa thought she was embarrassed, until she saw her pull a lip into her mouth, arching her back in a way that shifted her hips.  _ She’s thinking about me… pleasuring myself… and enjoying it.  _

The frost that suddenly spread over the furs on the bed made them both jump, and Elsa quickly stood up, clasping her hands behind her back awkwardly as she faced Maren. 

“I’m sorry, I um…” She thought back to what Kristoff had said about it being harder to hide your attractions when the relationship was new, feeling suddenly like she knew exactly how he felt, though  _ she _ couldn’t just slip on a pair of extra baggy trousers. She took a deep breath and the frost started to disappear once more.  _ At least it goes away easily enough.  _

“I’ll consider it. Maybe.” Elsa said quickly, eager to end the conversation so she couldn’t embarrass herself further. 

“Okay. Well, for now, lets just take things slowly. I’m in no rush. If you want to explore by yourself at your own pace that’s fine, but if you’re worried about it then talk to me, and we can do it together okay?” Maren stood up as she spoke, fuelling so much care and understanding into the words despite her very obvious arousal, that Elsa knew she was telling the truth. Maren pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, and she sighed into it. 

“Get some rest, beautiful.” Elsa's heart fluttered, returning her to a state of a teenager once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait a couple of extra days for this chapter, i've been a little ill and needed to take a day of two off of writing through the night haha   
> FrozenLights brought up that Elsa's birthday is around the winter solstice time, which I wasn't actually aware of, but considering i'm brushing over Christmas i'm not too worried about going into that. Lets just pretend it was a small event just before Maren arrived and Elsa was being kind of mopey through it XD
> 
> Abbie - That was one of my favourite comments, thank you. Back in the days when I studied film production at uni I had to do a lot of character analysis work for my script writing classes (this makes me sound old... i'm only 24), so i'm glad I actually learnt something!
> 
> Tennisman - Yes there will be some smut... and It will be relatively graphic so I hope you are all down for that. ;) 
> 
> KobyDoggo - The number of ElsaMaren fics is increasing so fast i'm kind of in awe. I'm glad something made you click on this one, and that you like it so much.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of NSFW content... this is your warning.

**Chapter 13**

Christmas came and went, as did the new year, and unfortunately they didn’t get much time alone together with all the celebrating and work that had to be done. It was frustrating, because all Elsa wanted to do was spend all of her time with the Northuldra woman. But Maren had duties to fulfil, and considering she had spent the better part of a week in Arendelle ignoring them, it wasn’t surprising that she had some catching up to do. Elsa herself had a fair amount of her own work that had been woefully neglected of late; as the fifth spirit it was her job to encourage the others to work alongside the Northuldra in peace, and as former queen she was in talks with her sister on a regular basis to set up trade deals with Arendelle and the other neighbouring kingdoms. It made her feel needed, like she was really helping these people, but a part of her wished she could go back to the days she was able to spend with Maren with no obligations other than to each other.

Maren had been exceptionally gentlemanly over the past couple of weeks, keeping her hands to herself, and her lips on hers only when appropriate. It was sweet, but it was driving Elsa mad. She knew it was the right thing to do, as she still hadn’t explored… things… yet, but having kissed so heatedly twice already, the memories were making it harder than expected. 

Her stomach clenched with want as she watched Maren spar with a strong young man, their wooden staffs clashing loudly with each blow. Elsa had some time to herself that afternoon, and had been drawn to the clearing in the trees where she knew Maren would be training the Northuldra youths. She had expected to find her running them through moves, maybe supervising them fighting, not mid battle with a brawny man, tunic already stripped off. Her dark blue top had been rolled up as far as it would go, bunched tightly around her biceps, the fabric straining as she swung the weapon around to block the man’s forceful hits. It hadn’t snowed for a few days, but a thin layer of ice still remained underfoot, and the air was still freezing, making Maren’s heated breaths form white clouds as she panted with her exertion. 

Elsa sneaked forward, careful not to divert Maren’s attention. She sat down on a rock behind the teenagers she was teaching, who were huddled up on a log, watching in awe as the adults fought. Elsa recognised the man in combat with Maren as Simmon, one of the strongest men in the Drengr village. It was clear he lacked finesse, but his sheer strength made him a force to be reckoned with, which only made it more incredible to watch Maren fight on par with him. Elsa looked over his form, his tight fitting beige shirt hugging his body, wet with sweat as he threw everything he had into fighting against her girlfriend. Most women would find him very attractive, which was confirmed from the excited looks of the girls in the group, but although Elsa knew he was conventionally good looking, he was nothing in comparison to Maren. 

A particularly hard swing from Simmon forced Maren to take a step backwards with a low growl, and Elsa felt her heart rate pick up. The concentration on her face was mesmerising, the light sheen of sweat making her skin seem luminous. She was in her element. The soft groans and pants coming from her made Elsa's head spin wildly, imagining those sounds in a very different environment, and she had to focus on her breathing to prevent any frost from seeping out around her. 

Over the past fortnight she had gotten more comfortable with the sensation of being turned on, and her body’s reactions were getting more controlled every day. She wasn’t actively trying to control it, but she found that she could now tell sooner when she was getting worked up, preventing the sudden bursts of magic. 

She realised that she had been staring at her girlfriend’s lean figure without actually paying attention to the fight, the whooping noises from the teenagers in front of her making her come back to her senses. Maren had her staff pointed at Simmon’s neck where he sat on the floor, clearly having been tripped up at some point. He laughed, and Maren grinned, reaching out a hand to help pull him up. They were panting, clearly both exhausted. It took a few seconds for Maren to notice her, and there was a look of surprise on her face when their eyes met. Almost instantly her face broke out into an ear splitting grin, patting her sparring partner on the back before jogging over to Elsa, who took a quick calming breath to steady herself. 

She stood up, allowing Maren to wrap her arms around her waist before giving her a quick peck on the lips. 

“Hey beautiful, enjoying the view?” She might have been restraining herself physically, but Maren hadn’t been holding back on her teasing. 

“Hmm” Elsa hummed, the sound somehow still managing to crack slightly. She didn’t trust herself to speak, and was glad of her decision when Maren squeezed her, the pumped muscles of her arms flexing. Elsa stopped breathing for a moment.

“How are you?” Maren asked, releasing her hold to slide a hand down and slip it into Elsa's. 

“I’m good. I was helping Yelena this morning, but Ryder told me you were training today and I got curious.” She looked at Maren shyly, knowing her intentions were pretty obvious. 

“ _ Curious _ , sure.” She raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Well, you’re welcome to watch me get hot and sweaty whenever you’d like.” She winked, leaning up to place a kiss on Elsa's forehead. 

Maren seemed more than aware that Elsa was getting increasingly affected by her, which in turn seemed to be affecting  _ her _ just as much in return, if the fidgeting and `early nights` were anything to go by. She hadn’t given any sign that she was uncomfortable with the pace they were taking their relationship, but Elsa couldn’t help but feel a little bad for making Maren go through the same frustration as she was when she was clearly ready for more. She had thought over and over about how best to navigate the more physical aspects of their relationship, but she was nervous about introducing anything in case she couldn’t stop herself and went too far; inevitably triggering the magical response she was so scared of. The frost was fine, and she agreed with everyone when they said that they were sure her magic wouldn’t be harmful if it acted up when things got heavy, but that didn’t mean she wanted to jump in without any kind of a plan. 

“Anna is coming up tomorrow for a while, but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a proper date with me the day after?” Elsa asked. She was desperate to spend some time alone with her girlfriend. 

“Sure, that sounds great. Anything in particular you have in mind?” She questioned.

“You’ll see.” Elsa said, pecking Maren on the cheek. “Simmon is waiting for you.” 

Honeymaren turned, seeing the class she was  _ supposed _ to be teaching stood awkwardly waiting for her. Simmon had one eyebrow cocked, a smirk playing on his face and Maren retreated from her hold of Elsa, chuckling guiltily. She had a habit of dropping everything when she saw Elsa, which was sweet, but it had gotten her in a fair bit of trouble recently.

“See you later?” Maren said, scratching the back of her head. 

“Of course.” Elsa gave Maren one last chaste kiss, smiling. 

***

“If we organise to host the trade deal as a port transaction instead of a land one it might be better. The Southern Isles have some interesting things both Arendelle _ and  _ Northuldra would be able to use, whereas generating the trade with Sarpsborg wouldn’t give us anything new.” Anna voice was steady as she spoke, her crown pinned firmly in her red hair. 

There were several of them sat in one of the larger huts, huddled around a map Anna had commissioned for Northuldra. Elsa had negotiated a series of basic trades between Northuldra and Arendelle, to strengthen their connection and enhance both sides resources, but Anna had managed to convince them to widen the trade deal to include further kingdoms. They had been reluctant at first, but after bringing a variety of goods for the Northuldra to sample, they had quickly realised how much they could benefit from an occasional trade. It was to be infrequent, running once a season, but it was a fantastic start.

“Hang on,” Elsa began, frowning deeply, “since when did you start trading more with the Southern Isles?” They had kept up trade with the Isles after the king had publicly condemned Hans for his actions, but there hadn’t been any talks of changing those agreements the last she knew of. 

“We are planning to travel there in spring to discuss strengthening our alliances; that includes more trade. The king is trying to widen his reach, and is offering some very good products.” Anna said, her queenly posture remaining even despite the topic relating to her ex-boyfriend’s kingdom. Elsa felt a swell of pride in her chest at how mature her sister had become in such a short time. Even Kristoff seemed to completely understand what she was talking about, and didn’t seem anywhere near as disgruntled by the mention of the Southern Isles as he had been when Elsa was queen. 

“The trade deal needs to benefit Northuldra as much as Arendelle before we agree to it, but it seems promising.” Kristoff spoke with power, his voice portraying an air of authority. It made Elsa's lips curl into a small smile.  _ He’s preparing to be the prince,  _ she realised. They were planning for a summer wedding, which suited both of them greatly, and as soon as the arrangements became official Kristoff would be expected to start shouldering a lot more of the royal duties.

“We trust Arendelle to know if our needs are being met. And we trust Elsa to convey any issues with you if they arise.” Yelena stated calmly, nodding. 

Anna continued explaining the route of this potential trade deal, and when they would know for sure what the deal would include. Elsa started to fade out from the conversation, flicking her eyes up to Maren. She was standing by the entrance of the hut with a tall, middle aged woman, making sure the leaders were uninterrupted. Maren couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off of Elsa though, which in turn was leading her to be distracted too. Ice blue met brown from under her lashes once again, and both women smiled. Maren made a valiant attempt at stopping the movement of her lips, knowing she would get in trouble if the meeting got interrupted by Elsa's distraction, but it wasn’t successful. Elsa tried to bite back a laugh as Maren’s face scrunched up in a strange way, but everyone seemed to notice anyway.

The group stopped talking and she felt her heartbeat pick up with her embarrassment. There were eight of them, herself included, participating in the organisation of this deal, and the seven pairs of eyes landed on her, before turning knowingly to a guilty looking Maren. Yelena sighed, but Anna’s queenly facade broke for a moment, and she let out a chuckle. 

“I think that’s enough for today, thank you for meeting with me. We will return after our trip to the Isles to run a pass by you.” She said, smiling merrily at each person, and waiting politely for Yelana to nod at her before looking to Elsa once more. 

“Honeymaren, if you wouldn’t mind staying.” Yelena spoke, leaving no room for question. 

Once everyone except Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Maren were left, Yelana raised a hand to her head, rubbing it frustratedly. 

“You two are going to be the death of me.” She said.

“Im sorry, it was my fault…” Maren said, looking at the older woman, shoulders raising in remorse.

“You are both as bad as each other.” Yelena raised her eyebrows accusingly, looking between them. 

“I think its cute.” Anna said, and Elsa saw her sisters attitude had returned to that of a dorky child again. She winked at Elsa, who smiled in return, thanking her for sticking up for them. Kristoff took great amusement in their childish behaviour, and nudged her playfully.

Yelena sighed again, but there was an underlying softness in her face that told them she didn’t actually mind their behaviour. In fact, despite how frequently she told them off for avoiding their tasks to steal a kiss or two, she would always make sure to leave room for them to be next to each other at dinner, and had been more than helpful with assigning jobs close by each other so they could take breaks together. It was clear she supported them, even if she wasn’t as vocal about it as Anna was. 

“Either way, you have work to do, and I trust you won’t get distracted  _ again _ .” She raised her eyebrows at Maren, who threw Elsa a quick smirk, before nodding and being ushered out of the door by Yelena. 

“Awww” Anna flopped over dramatically into Elsa's lap, making said woman lift her hands up in shock. “You’re in love!” Anna threw a hand over her head, in a swooning motion. 

“Anna…” She started but her heart beat faster in her chest at the words. “Lets not get ahead of ourselves here, it’s still new.” Anna waved the hand she had motioned with in the air dismissively, not moving from her sprawled out position on her sister’s knees. Kristoff was grinning at Elsa, and she realised that they clearly took pleasure in torturing her. She sighed, kind of enjoying the fluttering in her chest.

They talked for a while about how her relationship was progressing, and she was thankful that she finally had the chance to really get all of her feelings off of her chest. Kristoff seemed to sympathise much more than her sister did, obviously understanding her frustrations, and by the time her sister and kristoff had left, she had a new found burst of confidence. 

  
  


***

Elsa retired early to her hut, claiming that spending the day with her sister had tired her out. In reality, Maren had been playing on her mind all evening, and one too many kisses, and a stray hand - on her part - had left her screaming for more. She knew that if she stayed much longer she would be unable to stop herself straddling Maren right there and kissing her breathless. Her girlfriend had been a little concerned by her abrupt departure, but the blown pupils paired with the way she had darted her tongue out to wet her lips suggested she was having the same problems as Elsa. In fact, as she entered her private space, she cast a glance back to where Maren had been, catching her sneaking off to her own hut. She wondered if Maren was going to relieve some of the tension she was obviously feeling. She moaned quietly at the thought, and slipped into the dark room, flopping down onto her back on the bed, flipping her white hair over her shoulder to sit across her chest. 

She rubbed her hands over her face, trying to calm her thoughts as they ran rogue with images of Maren’s muscles after fighting Simmon, and of her aroused face after their last heated kiss. She sighed.  _ This is getting ridiculous. _ She tried to focus on anything else, but all she could think about was the tan skin and silky voice of her girlfriend, and her brain started to wonder what exactly she might be doing at that very moment. Was she already laid on the furs, touching herself? Did she take her clothes off, or did she need relief that badly that she would do it under her clothes? Was she trying to stay quiet, or was she moaning? The thought drew a moan from her own lips, and she felt her pulse beating wildly in her chest. Her hands felt cold, her body twitching with an energy she desperately needed to release. 

She let one hand slip into her hair, gripping it, but laid the other on her stomach, leaving it there for a minute. A throb pulsed through her lower abdomen as she considered her situation. She slowly moved her hand downwards, stopping to rest her wrist just under her bellybutton, the tips of her fingers sat just above where her body was begging her to touch. She felt her anxieties spike, and knew that there would be patches of ice around the room if she were to open her eyes.  _ It’s not dangerous. It’s not dangerous.  _ She repeated the words over and over until she felt her magic settle. 

The nerves had brought her out of the moment a little, but she was determined to try and take the first step. Letting her mind wander back to the picture she had created of Maren, laid down on her furs with her hand in her trousers and biting back the sounds of pleasure, Elsa felt another needy throb. 

Quickly throwing a blanket over the top of her, she shifted to lift her dress, letting it bunch up around her waist. She looked briefly around the room, happy to find that aside from a small area of frost on the bed, the rest of the room was free from her ice. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling that her cheeks were already flushed with embarrassment. Her brows pulled together as another wave of worry hit her, but her body begged her to continue, so she threw her free arm over her face, letting the crook of her elbow cast darkness over her vision, and returned her right hand to its previous position. Swallowing thickly, she crept her hand lower, laying it gently on the warm area between her thighs. Pressing down softly she sucked in a breath as the heat seemed to suddenly increase. She moved her hips up, feeling the pressure increase with the movement. Her body responded immediately with a wave of pleasure, and her breath caught. 

Without her dress in the way, there was only the fabric of her undergarments blocking her, and she slid her hand underneath them, chest tightening suddenly as her fingers met dampness. She frowned into her arm, surprised by the amount of wetness there. She ran her middle finger over the area, and breathed in sharply at how sensitive the skin was. 

She continued to run her finger up and down a few more times, trying to get used to the feeling before she explored any further. The arm covering her face was trembling, and she had to clench her teeth to stop them chattering with nerves. Her magic was definitely slipping out, but she could feel that the amount was small, so she tried to just ignore it. Taking a deep breath, she dipped her finger further into the wetness, her hips jerking away as her finger brushed over a particularly sensitive section. She stopped, not sure if she liked the sensation. Trying to still the trembling as it worked its way into her thighs, the muscles twitching, she brushed the area again. It sent a wave of cold energy through her, not dissimilar to when she used her magic, but it was centred on the small bundle of nerves she had found. It was too much, and she paused again, letting her finger rest in the searing heat. 

It took her a few minutes to relax again, and she found her brain naturally wandering once more the same image of Maren. This time she touched just above the sensitive area, pressing down lightly. The feeling made her gasp in pleasure, her hips rising up, and her finger slipped a little lower to where the majority of the wetness was. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped as heat flooded through her. It made her head feel fuzzy, and her body trembled again in an entirely different way. Her magic spiked as her body reacted to the intense feeling. 

She yanked her hand out immediately, clenching her fist and bringing it up to her forehead, lowering her other arm away from her eyes to check on the state of the room. The frost had grown massively, but there were no spikes of ice, nor a sudden snow storm. Exhaling quickly in relief, she felt her cheeks burn even hotter as she thought about what she was doing. She was embarrassed, and still very nervous, but she took a deep breath and slid her hand back down once more. She was braver with her movements this time, pressing with more certainly as she slowly rubbed the area she had found, and a sigh fell from her lips, eyes fluttering closed again. The hand that had been covering her face came to lay beside her instead, her fingers gripping into the sheets..

Her heart was already beating madly, and it started to skip beats, unable to keep up. Breathing became harder as the pleasure started coming at a constant pace, her finger finding a motion and pressure that worked for her. The image of Maren doing this to herself made her hips buck, and a wave of need passed through her. She craved more of it, and her movements became subconscious as the unusual feelings grew stronger and stronger. Her free hand came up to grip her hair and she turned her face to it to muffle the next moan rising up her throat. She shifted her hips, her legs spreading wider as if she were making room to accommodate the body she fervently wished were pressed against her, the feel of Maren’s hand where hers was, touching her... 

Her lips opened and her teeth bit into her arm, her movements quickening as she held her breath, but still a quiet whimper slipped out, and suddenly the pillow felt hard under her head. She kept moving, but cracked open her eyes.

The pillow was frozen solid. She sat up with a gasp, pulling her right hand away, and ignoring the throb of desperation that hit her when she stopped. She moved off of the bed quickly, noticing that the area where her left hand had previously been was also surrounded in ice. She touched the shimmering white material, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing. 

Panic hit her first, the fear that she hadn’t even felt it happening at all more concerning than the ice itself. Then came shame, that she had been doing such a thing in the first place. Then anger, that she couldn’t control herself. And finally, a deep sadness, because despite everything else she  _ wanted… _ wanted to not have to feel so many worries, wanted to be able to feel pleasure like other people could, wanted  _ Maren _ … in every way. 

Her magic was beginning to spiral, but she grasped back her control by force, and sat back down on the bed, dropping her head into her hands. She thought about the things she thought she had let go of during the Winter Solstice and frowned.  _ I won’t give in to this. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....... yeah
> 
> Lady_Ashla_Tano - Yeah I do feel sorry for Elsa having such an obvious tell. I can imagine Maren doing something hot one day and Elsa gets embarrassed when she frosts the floor, and all the men around just pat her on the back in support.
> 
> Ravrav - I'm getting concerned about how many people are reading this into the early hours. You need sleep. Go to bed. 
> 
> Jay (Jayy_x) - It's definitely awkward to have those conversations, and to read them, but my god is it fun to write them.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before you read this, I have something to say.   
> As they go out onto the water, there is a song that would play. Most people cant listen and read, so feel free to read it first, but if you could listen to the song after to really understand where i'm going with this you will really understand it better. If you read at a relaxed pace, it should fit almost perfectly in time... maybe. Here's the song:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sasEE8-XYPs

**Chapter 14**

Honeymaren woke to the sound of a voice outside of her hut. For a second she was tempted to roll over and ignore it, until she realised that the lyrical voice belonged to Elsa. She couldn’t make out what the woman was saying, but from the sound of the hushed whispering it seemed that she was arguing with herself about something. Maren pushed herself up, letting the furs fall from her shoulders, and frowned at the entrance to her chambers. 

_ What on earth is she doing out there?  _ She wondered, blinking rapidly to wake herself up properly. She heard a groan, followed by a dramatic sigh, and then after a moment of silence there was a soft knocking on the wood next to the entrance. Maren raised an eyebrow, surprised. It was clearly still dark outside, so it seemed odd for Elsa to be seeking her out at this hour. She slowly pushed herself up, wobbling a little when she flicked her messy hair out of her face, before pulling up the tarp to reveal her girlfriend’s awkward expression. She was dressed in a white gown, hair loose around her shoulders, with the slightest hint of pinkness to her cheeks that Maren immediately wanted to kiss and make darker. Overall, she was gorgeous, and Maren breathed in deeply as her eyes roamed over the woman she knew she was falling in love with. She often forgot that Elsa was the fifth spirit, but looking at her now, practically glowing with magic, it was unmistakable. 

“Elsa…” She meant it as a question, but the name came out on her breath like a prayer. She watched as Elsa curled in on herself, worrying at her lower lip. 

“Hey…” She said, reaching out automatically to lay a hand on Maren’s waist. “I’m sorry for waking you up.” She looked so innocent that it made Maren’s heart melt. 

“No, it’s fine, can you not sleep?” She still wasn’t sure why Elsa was there, but the idea that maybe she had come to her for comfort made warmth blossom in her chest. She smiled invitingly at her girlfriend, letting her know she really didn’t mind the interruption. 

“Well, no actually, but that’s not why I’m here. I want to take you somewhere.” Their date was supposed to be today, but she didn’t realise it was going to be before the sun had even risen. They both had all afternoon free, so she had assumed they would spend time together then. However, Elsa’s expression was so eager she couldn’t have said no even if she’d wanted to.

“Sure, just let me get changed.” She beckoned for Elsa to follow her back inside, and noticed the brief flash of nerves on her face. “Y-You don’t have to come in, sorry, I didn’t think.” She knew Elsa wanted to take things slowly, and she wished she had considered that before offering to let her see her get undressed. She mentally groaned at her idiocy. 

“No I- It’s okay.” A shy smile tugged at Elsa's lips, and she slowly followed as Maren walked back inside. 

Her heartbeat quickened as the entrance fell behind shut them, enclosing them both in the stillness of the room. There was a different atmosphere than usual, and the air between them felt charged. She swallowed, giving Elsa a quick glance before bending over to pull off her nightgown. She heard the sharp intake of breath from next to her, but tried to avoid looking back over. She had been making shameless jokes all week, after having noticed how affected Elsa was by her toned figure, but it felt inappropriate to make one now. The air was cold, and it made her hairs stand on end as she stood there in her underwear. She moved quickly to where she had left her clothes from the day before, slipping into the trousers as fast as she could. As she tied the strings to secure them she turned, picking up her blue undershirt, but stopped short when she laid eyes on Elsa. 

Elsa was stood very still, hands clasped so tightly together in front of her that her knuckles were white. Her breathing seemed to have slowed to the point that it was almost unnoticeable. There was a wide ring of frost across the floor, and Maren fought back the urge to make a sound at the sight, instead following Elsa's gaze to her own stomach, where the line of muscle stood out. She had been working out more than usual over the past couple of weeks to help with her… extra energy, so she knew she looked good, but it seemed to be having an effect on her girlfriend. Curious, she lifted her arms up under the guise of putting on her shirt, and stretched her body out, flexing the muscles. She heard a breathy sound slip from Elsa's lips and watched her suck her lower one into her mouth before looking away, clearly struggling to control the frost that was creeping ever closer over the floor. 

She smiled, happy with the reaction she was getting, but it did leave her a little confused. It was obvious that Elsa was attracted to her in a physical sense, but this response was far more uncontrolled than usual. She put on the rest of her clothes quickly, not wishing to make her girlfriend’s situation worse. She whipped her hair into a messy braid, but decided to forgo her hat. It didn’t take long to get ready, even though her heart was beating wildly in response to the eyes she felt boring into her. She turned to face Elsa again once she was done, speaking as she moved.

“Okay, all se-” A hot pair of lips crashed into hers, making her jump. Elsa's hands grasped at her face, and she instinctively gripped at her waist. The hands on her face pulled her closer, and Elsa's lips moved insistently against her own, with a hunger that was barely contained. Maren kept her back tense, pressing passionately into the kiss whilst just about managing to keep herself under control. She wanted nothing more than to throw Elsa down onto the furs and explore her body with her lips, but she knew that they weren’t ready yet, and suppressed the moan she felt rising in her throat at the image. Nails scraped lightly at her skin, and she grew breathless as the fragile body in her arms arched into her, almost giving up on trying to stay in control. 

Gently, she began to push Elsa away, reluctantly separating their lips. Elsa's pupils were blown, cheeks flushed, her breath coming in shuddering gasps. She hadn’t been this affected by any of their previous kisses, and Maren was desperate to know what had made her like this; she was sure it wasn’t just seeing her partially nude. 

“Elsa, wait…” It pained her to say it, but the words seemed to knock Elsa out of her trance. 

“Sorry... I just… earlier I was… sorry.” Her words trailed off as she took a step back, looking awkwardly at the floor. 

_ Earlier? What… _ Maren thought back to what Elsa had said about not being able to sleep, and felt her heart skip a beat. She put the facts together; Elsa being a little more handsy than usual, sneaking off early to bed, being unable to sleep...  _ Did she…?  _ Before her brain could even try to process the erotic images flying through her mind, she realised that Elsa didn’t look particularly happy about it. Her brows were drawn together slightly, and one hand was hugging her waist while the other clenched at the air by her side. 

“Hey, it’s fine. Do you need to talk?” She pushed down her own arousal, taking one of Elsa's hands in hers, drawing patterns over it with her thumb. 

“No, I- I’m okay…” There was a moment of silence as Maren tried to prompt the girl into elaborating on her condition. “I tried to… you know… I just ended up with a block of ice for a pillow.” She laughed lightly, but there was a sadness there. “It’s okay though, I can work on it. I want to be  _ more _ with you,  _ do _ more with you… I’ll get there.” 

Elsa's expression was set, and her voice displayed a mix of mournful sadness, determination, and lust. It was clear she had thought this through a lot, and Maren wished she could have been there to help her sort through those emotions earlier, but she knew this was something she needed to figure out by herself. Maren smiled softly, and placed a careful kiss on Elsa's lips.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Maren asked again, knowing how quick Elsa could sink into the darkness of her own self doubts. Elsa was quiet for a second, and Maren wondered just how hard this particular process was hitting her.

“I think so. I mean… I wasn’t. There was a while where I was struggling, but I thought about everything, and feel okay. I know you’ll help me get there, even if that takes time... Right?” 

The uncertainty in her voice pained Maren, but her words were mature and showed her growth. She had gone to a dark place, and managed to talk herself out of it, all by herself. A proud smile lit up her face and she pulled Elsa into a tight hug, Nodding. 

“Always.” 

***

Maren felt an unsettling pang of nervousness hit her. Elsa had summoned Nokk, and ridden them both out to the beach. There wasn’t much wind, so the sea was calm, but the expanse of black water reflecting the ominously endless sky above it put her on edge. She hugged her arms tightly around Elsa's waist from the back of the horse.

“Honey?” Elsa asked, bringing the water horse to a stop just shy of the shore line. She must have been able to sense her nervousness. Maren just hummed questioningly in response, but Elsa twisted to catch her eye. “Are you okay?”

“I trust you.” It wasn’t an answer exactly, but it conveyed all that Elsa needed to know. Her hands clenched with fear, and Elsa brought one of her own down to rub over them. It was clear that she was uncomfortable, but she knew that Elsa would never do anything to put her at risk. She had  walked with Elsa through her own fears; now it was time to let Elsa do the same for her.

With a smile, Elsa turned Nokk to face the water, and the Spirit took a slow step out onto the surface. As they moved, Maren wa tched in awe as the horse’s liquid hooves stayed firmly on top of the dark water, unaffected by it. Marvelling at the power of the Spirit, she let out a breath that she didn’t realise she’d been holding, and looked up again. They were only a couple of metres away from the beach, but Maren felt her stomach drop, her hands gripping fiercely around Elsa's stomach. 

Elsa stopped the horse, letting her get used to where they were. 

“I’ve got you.” The softness in Elsa's voice calmed her racing heart a little, and she swallowed, looking into her eyes. The usual icy blue was darker, reflecting the black sky the same way the water was. Maybe she could drown in her gaze like she could the ocean too. A smile lingered on Elsa's lips, and it was clear to see how at peace she was out here, even under the moons menacing eye. Something about the emptiness around them seemed to calm the woman, and with a life as difficult as Elsa had had, she could see why. 

“I’m okay.” She said honestly, feeling the effects of Elsa's peacefulness wash over her as well. It would take a while to relax fully, but it would be worth it just to see that look on Elsa's face again. Nokk took a few slow steps forward again, and a gentle breeze picked up around them as they got further out. The water began to swell into tiny waves, and the sound of it seemed to make a sort of melody. It took a moment for Maren to realise Elsa was humming quietly. She listened to the sound, and felt herself relax more. Suddenly Elsa spoke, and Maren listened with rapt attention.

“I’ve been through a lot. Trusting you with everything was... hard. Honestly I’d almost given up.” She laughed lightly. “No matter what I did, it was like I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t have enough control. But I didn’t realise I was drowning in my own fear... and that kind of darkness is hard to fight; it pulls you in deeper every time. Sometimes it felt like I was balancing on a tightrope, and one slip would send me into the depths. I just threw walls up and hoped that I could figure it out one day… until you.

“You make me feel something… I’ve never felt before. You see a part of me that no one else has seen before, and sometimes you give me this look and I think I can see it too. I’m still afraid that I’ll hurt you, or do something wrong… but it’s like you can see into my soul and you just  _ know _ it will be okay.” 

Maren stayed silent as Elsa spoke, staring at the side of her face as she stared out to the icy mass in the distance. The natural lyrical tone of Elsa’s voice gave her speech the elements of a song, and Maren couldn’t help her breath from catching. Her chest swelled as Elsa broke out into a wide smile, casting Maren a quick glance before prompting Nokk into a run. The wind rushed past them, but with Elsa's voice still ringing in her ears, the fear she had felt vanished, and a rush of excitement pulsed through her. 

Elsa took a deep, steadying breath.

“I don’t want to look back anymore. All the mess that I had to work through to get here was worth it. All of it is worth it if I can have you.”

Next to them, a swirl of magic formed, creating a reindeer out of glowing fractals of ice to run alongside them, it’s form fluttering away in areas where the magic was less solid. On the other side, a strong horse, both animals looking ahead as they ran. Maren laughed at the creatures, amazed. The waves reflected the glow as they continued to swell their music around them, and Elsa shot her hands to either side, creating two figures riding the animals. Maren saw what appeared to be her own form on top of the reindeer, her hair flowing freely as the glittering outline laughed. She looked over to the loosely formed ice copy of Elsa gracefully riding her magical horse. 

“You remember what I asked you the first time we kissed?”

“You said, show me” Maren replied breathlessly, as she watched the magic around them whirl into new shapes, throwing itself over the water to create trees and rocks. Northuldra… It was glorious, and the laugh that bubbled free was louder than she expected. She couldn’t have said if it was the wind whipping past her or the overwhelming emotions that filled every fibre of her being, but her vision grew obscured behind the tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, not wanting to miss a moment of the precious gift Elsa was giving her. 

“What you gave me was better than anything I could I have asked for. I know it’s now up to me, to show myself I can do it, but until you pushed me… you showed me I could have everything.”

The magic formed a few buildings, a flag pole waving in the wind. Arendelle…

Elsa unwrapped Maren’s arms from around her, and Maren’s eyes widened for a moment. With a quick bite of her lip, Elsa threw out a blast of magic, freezing the top layer of the water around them, before jumping off the horse and onto its surface. It glowed blue under her feet, and with a beautiful expression of sheer joy, she shut her eyes, all of the glittering magic around them rushing towards her in a flurry to form their figures again. They reached out to each other in what was clearly an invitation to dance, and Maren watched open mouthed as her magical double spun Elsa around with a grace like falling snow, lifting her into the air by her waist. 

There was a soft fog around them that almost made Maren forget they were in the middle of the ocean at nighttime, and she caught Elsa's inviting gaze, shining under the light of her own magic, before shooting one last uncertain look at the icy platform below her and sliding off the horse with a grin. She leapt over to Elsa, reaching out to take her hand as they watched the magical dance scene unfold. She twirled the real Elsa by raising a hand above her head, and the magical version followed suit like they were looking into an icy reflection, making them both smile in delight. Elsa span into her arms, lifting her elbows into a position Maren wasn’t familiar with. She gripped her girlfriends waist with one hand, the other held aloft by Elsa's own cold one, and let Elsa lead her through a few moves. The magic seemed to have taken control of her brain as well as her body, and they danced for a minute in a performance that only Elsa could provide. The blue hue of the ice above and below them lit up the scene, making Elsa's pale skin and white dress practically glow with it. 

The fifth spirit laughed musically, before gripping her hand harder and pulling away, luring Maren to run next to her into the foggy distance. It took little more than a few seconds to breach it, and her eyes were suddenly laid upon Atohallen, in all its icy beauty. She tried to take it all in, but it was too much, and she turned to Elsa, who was looking at her with a depth that made her heart jump. 

“Thank you. For showing me.” Elsa leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss. It was unlike any of the other kisses they had shared before, filled with warmth and affection and the unmistakable breath of love. They both sighed into it, but Maren couldn’t stop her lips from drawing up into a smile, forcing her to pull away. 

***

Elsa showed her the inside of the glacier, and Maren was amazed by how it felt to be fully encased in ice like that. The towers of ice standing on end and the tunnels that seemed to glow with magic seemed too surreal to comprehend. There was an oddly sinister atmosphere mixed into the fantastical, and it made the lullaby of Atohallan make a lot more sense. Through it all, Maren couldn’t stop feeling honoured to be there; this was the place that birthed Elsa's magic, and it felt amazingly intimate sharing it with her. 

When they emerged from the icy caves, Elsa had a smile on her face, and Maren gave her a curious look, not sure what had triggered it. It didn’t take long however, for her to realise why she was so happy. While they were inside, the sun had risen, and a beautiful golden glow was now washing the sky and ocean in a rich palette of pinks and yellows. The trees were free from snow now, but there were patches of white still visible between them, which only added to the beauty. They were quite a distance away, and Maren had never seen Northuldra like this before. Something about viewing the land from the ocean as it lay still sleeping, hugged by the colours thrown over it… it was a gift like none other. 

She stood, completely enraptured by the sight for a while, absentmindedly walking towards the water. It took several minutes for her to come to her senses, and she turned to see Elsa had followed her to the water's edge. The pale woman watched her curiously, more relaxed than Maren had ever seen her. 

“Thank you.” Maren said, reaching out to hold Elsa's hand. A small smile formed on her rosy lips, and Maren leaned in to kiss it softly. 

“It was worth it just to see that look on your face.” Elsa stepped close to her, and the rising tide lapped at her shoes. Quickly, she slipped off her heels, making her suddenly a lot shorter, before stepping backwards into the water. Maren felt her heart thud in her chest as the wind blew Elsa's hair to the side, a strand getting caught on her lip. She kept her eyes on Maren’s as she let the water wrap around her ankles.  _ I would follow you anywhere if you asked.  _

With a deep breath she also slipped of her shoes, reaching down swiftly to roll up her trousers to her knees, before walking forward. The icy rock under her feet was freezing, and she had a moment of regret, before the water pooled around her feet, and Elsa reached both arms out to her, palms up. Any doubts left her mind when she placed her hands in Elsa's, letting her be pulled forward. They looked into each other’s eyes, not needing to say anything, and they drank in the others presence. When they kissed, it wasn’t clear who moved first, if either of them. Perhaps it was a force stronger than both of them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little nervous about posting this chapter, because I have such a clear scene in my head. Hopefully it actually comes across and you all like it.   
> To everyone - I know you all hated me for making Elsa regress mentally at the end of the last chapter, but It was important haha However, she dealt with it well and showed her growth, so you can calm down. She's okay. 
> 
> elsaxmaren - Thank you for mentioning that people on Twitter like this, I was completely surprised when I went to check it out and saw all the love there. 
> 
> TheNightstriker - Honestly after the first chapter I thought about the fact that she would probably make snowgies when she cums, but I had to tell myself that would be a bad idea. Made be laugh so hard though.
> 
> mongmong - My partner loved the Rea part too. I was kind of surprised because I'm usually iffy with flashback scenes, but tiny Elsa is so cute.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter is Explicit.

**Chapter 15**

  
  


A gust of wind blew a piece of paper into Elsa's line of vision, and she reached up and caught it quickly before it blew into the fire. It was thick, and folded into an envelope shape, which Elsa thought was cute. She could imagine Anna sat folding it carefully with her tongue sticking out. 

“Thanks, Gale.” She said, and the mischievous wind spirit whipped around her, flicking her braid around into her face. She laughed at the attack, and pushed it back, watching as the spirit kicked up a few twigs as it swept away. She unfolded the paper, noticing that something else was tucked neatly inside of the sheet. 

_ Elsa,  _

_ I looked into what you asked, and you were right, we found two books that look like they are from Northuldra. Mother had hidden them on one of the top shelves at the back with all the boring textbooks. They’re here for you when you next come down.  _

_ On another note, Kristoff is causing a fuss about the suit we’re tailoring for him… Maybe you could have a word seeing as you two are such close friends now...  _

_ Speak soon,  _

_ Your amazing sister, Anna. _

The note made Elsa chuckle; Anna was still more than a little sore that she had confided in Kristoff before her about her feelings for Honeymaren, and she often made quips about it to both of them. Anna’s acceptance had come easily after she’d found out about her feelings for Maren, which Elsa was entirely grateful for, but she was also a little happy about the fact that she had ended up going to Kristoff. He had been so supportive of her, and because of that they‘d grown closer than she‘d thought they ever would. Their relationship was helped even more so by the fact that he had grown to become best friends with Ryder, much to Maren and Anna’s amusement. Two men with an unhealthy fascination for reindeer in the same room always made for an interesting conversation. 

She held the note in one hand, and looked at the two pieces of paper that were tucked inside. Her face broke out into a smile as she realised it was the photos they had taken on their group trip to Arendelle. They hadn’t intended on going, but the day before the Solstice Mattais had insisted on seeing them off, and they had been dragged into the `picture place` for a couple of hours. The Northuldra siblings and her had left to go and find food for their trip while Mattais and Anna stayed to talk to the man, so she had assumed she had taken the photos back to the castle. They had obviously been forgotten about, and Ryder and Maren weren’t sure what to expect so they hadn’t questioned it. Anna obviously thought these two were ones she might want. 

She looked at the one on top and laughed. It showed Ryder and Kristoff, stood awkwardly next to each other. They looked incredibly uncomfortable, but it was a nice picture nonetheless. She knew Ryder would lose his mind over the image, and planned to give it to him. She moved that photo aside, and her breath caught as she saw the second one. It was her and Maren, side by side, and Maren was looking at her while she stared at the camera. Elsa was used to paintings, which were much crisper and more emotional, but in her opinion this was one of the best photos she had ever seen… though she was biased.

“Hey Snowflake.” Elsa grinned as the voice called out from behind her. Turning, she took in the sight of Maren, with Bruni sat atop her head wiggling his tail, and Ryder as they made their way over to the fire where she stood. 

“Hey yourself.” She placed a kiss on Maren cheek, but the woman’s attention was on the little image in her hands. 

“What’s that?” She asked, reaching out to run a finger along the depiction of Elsa. 

“Anna sent a couple of the photographs we took. There’s one for you Ryder.” She handed him the photo, laughing as he looked at it wide eyed, bringing it close to his face to inspect it. She handed the other to Maren, and wasn’t sure whose reaction was better. Ryder was comically amazed, spinning around and holding it close, before then holding out at an arm's length, a huge grin on his face. Maren on the other hand had one of the softest expressions she had seen on her face, and the hint of a smile.

“Incredible!” Ryder shouted, drawing the attention of a few people near them. “Look at us! We look great!” He waved the picture in front of Maren, who laughed at him. They heard a light chuckle from close by, and looked in the direction it came from. Maren smirked as they saw a girl who looked to be about Anna’s age, watching Ryder from a log by the fire. Elsa watched curiously as the girl’s face lit up in a blush, and Ryder suddenly stopped moving. The girl looked like she would be about the same height as him, but her hair was more copper in colour, making her stand out from the other Northuldra. Elsa had seen her before, in Maren's training classes, but hadn’t paid her much attention. 

“At least Heidi thinks you’re cute.” Maren said with an amused snort. 

“Shut up! She does not.” Ryder seemed flustered, and Elsa looked over to the girl again, noticing that she was still looking over to them, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers nervously. Maren seemed to notice it too.

“Oh she so does.. Why don’t you go get her a drink?” Maren suggested, lifting her eyebrows in a  _ go on _ movement. 

“But… Wouldn’t that be weird? She just helps me feed the reindeer every now and then, I don’t know her that well.” Even Elsa smiled at that, realising just how bad Ryder was at seeing signs, not that she was one to talk.

“Does she have to help or does she just do it off her own back?” Elsa questioned.

“She’s just nice?” He said, rubbing the back of his head, and looking away from them. 

“You’re an idiot. Go.” Maren practically pushed Ryder in the direction of Heidi, and Elsa chuckled. He whimpered in protest, but walked over to her when the girl waved shyly at him. He stumbled a little on a rock and Maren sighed. 

“Smooth Ryder…” She spoke quietly, so no one but Elsa could hear. 

They sat down a little way from him, and Elsa found herself watching him try and interact with the girl despite her best efforts not to. She laughed when he pulled out the photo of him and Kristoff to show her, but it seemed to go down well. Elsa felt Maren rest a hand on her knee gently, and she rested her head on Elsa's shoulder, looking into the fire. 

Elsa had…  _ practised _ … a few times over the past couple of weeks, but wasn’t much closer to being ready to take things further. She had spoken to Maren about her lack of progress, and thankfully she hadn’t seemed to mind, other than to worry about whether Elsa was taking it well. Which she wasn’t. She didn’t mind that her control slipped anymore, she had managed to talk herself out of feeling guilty about that, but she was sexually frustrated, and not being able to relieve the tension was driving her crazy. Everytime she got close to release she would freeze whatever was under her hands. Luckily she hadn’t managed to freeze  _ herself _ , but her bed was getting treated particularly badly. She was getting to the point where she was wondering if she should throw caution to the wind, and just hope that the village was still intact by the end of it. 

In her constant state of frustration, she had found herself accidentally taking things a step too far with Maren on more than one occasion. Once she had found herself kissing down Maren’s neck, lured in by dancing shadows thrown by the fire’s glow, another time she had let her hands wander over her back and across to Maren's stomach, nails biting into the flesh and making her moan. The day before, she had walked in on Maren changing shirts after a particularly hard training session, and had kissed her hotly until they fell backwards onto the furs, Elsa on top of her. She was glad that Maren had such an amazing sense of self control, so she had the time she needed to explore, but there were moments when she wished she didn’t.

“Do you want me to get you a drink?” Elsa asked, half to be kind, and half because the hand on her knee had started to run up and down lightly, and she was having to fight the frost already.

“No, I’m okay.” Maren tilted her head, craning in what must have been an uncomfortable position to place a kiss on Elsa's neck. She held her breath, as Maren’s own blew hotly over the skin. 

“H-How about we go for a walk?” She was desperate to move, the energy inside of her swirling.

“I’m actually kind of comfortable here.” Maren’s nose nuzzled her bare shoulder, and Elsa shivered. The fire was hot on her skin, but the area beneath Maren’s touch felt cold and tingling. She hummed an okay, and sat tensely as Maren continued to run her hand over her knee, and slightly on her inner thigh. It was more than appropriate for being in public, and she could tell it was just an affectionate motion, but with Elsa's mind in the state it was in it felt far from that.

She sat there for a few minutes as her mind began to wander, imagining that hand sliding higher and higher… Maren’s mouth moving to kiss at her neck… She frowned and closed her eyes against the phantom sensation, raising a hand to squeeze the bridge of her nose with a groan. Maren hummed happily next to her, shifting impossibly closer. Her chest thumped painfully. 

“Oh my god, I’m done.” Elsa stood, shocking Maren, and almost knocking her off her seat. Ryder noticed her abrupt movement and cocked his head curiously in their direction. Elsa grabbed Maren’s hand, ignoring the attention she had garnered and pulled her up as well. Without a word, she tugged her away, leading them towards her hut. She tried to walk at a normal pace, but she knew it was more than a little hurried. 

She practically shoved Maren inside, immediately moving in to kiss her as soon as the entrance fell closed behind them. Maren let go of a surprised gasp, but kissed back just as passionately, placing her hands on Elsa's waist. Elsa slid her hands around Maren’s neck, bringing their bodies flush together. One of her hands reached straight down her back to release Maren’s braid, her fingers twining in the hair, deftly pulling it loose until it fell freely down her back. Without the obstruction she delved into the silken strands, gripping it in a way she knew drove Maren wild. As she expected, the woman gasped, breaking the kiss for a second, but Elsa didn’t give her time to take another breath, recapturing her lips instantly. Lost in the kiss, her hands seemed to move of their own accord, one reaching round to pull Elsa even closer to her, whilst the other settled onto her hip, her fingers digging in with their need.

Elsa's heart was pounding, and her lungs were begging her to break free to breathe, so she moved her lips away an inch to take a breath, before shifting to kiss along Maren’s jaw, and across to her neck. She could feel Maren struggling to catch her breath at her movement, and felt her stomach tense in anticipation. In all her life, Elsa had felt sexy only a handful of times. She had been told she was attractive a number of times, and it had been very clear that Maren appreciated her appearance, but in that moment, with Maren practically shaking in her arms, she felt incredible. 

Trusting her instincts, she moved her lips to Maren’s ear, her breath ghosting hotly across it before her tongue slipped out, flicking across it. Maren’s head turned away to give her better access, her hands getting rougher in response, pressing her fingers firmly against her. She repeated the action, and moaned quietly, the sound escaping right next to Maren’s ear. Something about the action broke Maren out of her passiveness, and the hand on her back whipped up to grab her chin, pulling her lips back to hers so that she could kiss her forcefully. All rational thought had vanished, and the need to touch each other grew stronger with every second. 

Elsa didn’t fight it when Maren started walking them backwards, before turning them quickly and pushing Elsa down onto her bed. It had been clear that Maren had been holding herself back, but Elsa hadn’t realised just how much control she’d been maintaining. She shifted to lay in the middle of the furs, the Northuldra woman following to hover over her a second later. Elsa stayed raised up on one elbow, using the other to pull Maren’s face back towards her, resuming their feverish kissing. Maren shifted one knee up next to her thigh, with the other stretched out between them. She held herself up by one hand, the other finding a place on Elsa's waist, running up and down her side and occasionally gripping at her hip. Elsa felt their tongues meet briefly, and started to feel more than a little lightheaded. She moaned, gasping with need when Maren copied her own previous actions to kiss up her neck and over her ear, realising just how torturous the sensation was. Her hand fell to Maren’s chest, clenching her fingers around the fabric as a high pitched gasp escaped. 

Maren pulled away slightly to look at Elsa's face, and she was sure she looked a mess. Elsa’s braid had started coming undone already, and she knew her cheeks were flushed. She watched as Maren took a slow, deep breath, eyes raking across her features and down her body. Lifting her gaze back up, she pinned Elsa with a stare of such intense hunger that she felt her breathing stop. 

“Elsa…” Maren’s voice was raspy, low and thick with lust. “I need to know what you want... If you need me to stop you have to say so… because I don’t want to.” 

“Don’t stop... please. I want you.” Elsa felt needy, in a way that she was sure she should be embarrassed about. She kept flicking her eyes down to Maren’s lips, hoping she would give in and take what she was offering. 

“Are.. Are you ready? I thought…” Maren seemed to be blinking herself back into reality, a delicate frown playing on her face. Her chest was still heaving, and her pupils were blown wider than Elsa had ever seen, but she was somehow still fighting to maintain control. Elsa was amazed, and felt her intense arousal give way to a loving affection. She leaned up to place a soft kiss on Maren’s cheek. Pushing Maren back, she moved to sit up. She wanted to dive back in, but she knew Maren respected her too much to let them go somewhere she wasn’t  _ sure  _ she was ready for, and she wouldn’t want to taint their first time by putting that kind of pressure on her girlfriend. 

She sighed, still struggling to keep her hands off of Maren’s tan skin. 

“I don’t know. I know I’m ready for it emotionally, even physically, but my magic still flies out of control if I get… you know… close.” They both sat crossed legged on the bed, and Elas looked away, embarrassed, choosing to focus on the little carvings on the bed post that Ryder had made for her. 

“Do you think that would be any different if it was me touching you?” Blood flushed to the surface of Elsa's chest and neck, crawling up to her face. Something about hearing those words come out of Maren’s mouth made her feel suddenly flustered.

“Umm…” Her voice was unsteady as she fumbled to reply. “P-Probably not. But If I’m going to have to just  _ do it _ , I don’t really want to be alone. Just in case…” It sounded silly to say out loud, but she was so scared of reaching that peak. Not just because of her magical reaction, but because she had spent her whole life fighting to  _ not  _ feel, and losing control to that point still made her feel guilty and terrified. She had begun to wonder if her fears about that might have something to do with her magical reaction, but until she actually faced it she couldn’t really be sure. 

“I want to help you, but not uh… like we were just doing.” Elsa frowned, not understanding. Maren had seemed totally into what they were doing, and Elsa knew  _ she _ was enjoying it. She wasn’t sure what she had done wrong. 

“Oh.. umm.. Okay?” Her brows pulled together and up a little, and she looked down at the furs under her crossed legs, feeling embarrassed once again. 

“Don’t get me wrong,” she reached out to lift Elsa's face back up, stroking a thumb over her cheek, “I  _ really _ enjoyed that. But I need to be in the right frame of mind if I’m going to help you do this for the first time. I don’t want to uh… get too excited.” This time it was Maren who looked flustered, and Elsa laughed lightly. 

“Oh, I see.” She wanted to feel Maren’s body, and touch her the same way she wanted to be touched, but it made sense that Maren would want to be in control enough to lead her through her first time carefully. It was sweet, and Elsa smiled lovingly at the gorgeous Northuldra in front of her. 

“So…” Maren smirked, and slowly crawled forward, stopping a hair's breadth away from Elsa's lips. Considering they had just been making out heavily, she knew it shouldn’t affect her, but her breath caught, and she shivered. “Do you want me to…  _ help _ … you now?” 

The question had already been pretty much answered by their previous conversation, and by Elsa's obvious attempt to seduce her, but hearing it said out loud made her abdomen clench with arousal. 

“Yes…” She pleaded, unmoving.

Maren pushed gently on her chest, guiding her down to lay on the bed. She tapped on her legs, and she unfolded them, letting Maren situate herself in the same position she had been in before, their legs intertwined. As they moved, Maren stayed close to her lips, her breath tickling them. A hand came up to cup her face, and she closed her eyes, expecting the contact finally, but Maren just turned her head to the side, instead placing a series of gentle kisses down her neck. With her eyes closed she hadn’t expected the movement, and she inhaled sharply, arching her back a tiny amount. Her heart began to beat faster as Maren's lips moved down to her shoulder, and then down to her chest. As she peppered sensual kisses across the exposed area of skin, she brought the hand that was on Elsa’s face down to her thigh, slowly bringing it up to lift her dress. Elsa bit her lip, the slow movement leaving a tingling sensation on her skin. Maren moved her mouth back up, and finally placed her lips on hers, bracing herself on her knee for a moment to lower her other hand, and lifting the rest of the dress to bunch around her waist. 

She pulled away, helping Elsa to sit up and pull the dress over her head. They tossed it to the side, and Maren kept her eyes on hers, kissing her again quickly and leaving Elsa surprised that she hadn’t looked at her body first. Other than around her sister, she had never been this exposed in front of another person before. It made her nervous, especially where her dress was padded to avoid her needing a bra, leaving her entirely bare except for her underwear. She wondered if Maren could see the slight trembling of her muscles as she laid back down. They continued kissing for a short while, until Elsa felt a little more comfortable, bringing her own hands up to untie the thick belt around Maren’s waist. She took the hint, tossing it on the floor, before pulling away and lifting the tunic up and off of her. Elsa watched with bated breath as Maren also pulled off her navy undershirt and undid the fabric covering her breasts, leaving her bare from the waist up as well. 

Maren sat back, and Elsa pushed herself up to join her. She could see Maren’s eyes finally roaming over her body, and Elsa suddenly understood that she had been waiting until she was more relaxed. Even with Maren displaying that amount of care, Elsa once again felt a twinge of nervousness. Swallowing, she lifted a hand to Maren’s stomach, running it across the firmness there, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Maren raised her hand with a smile, placing it on the same spot on Elsa's abdomen. It made her shiver, and she focused on her breathing as she traced across Maren’s skin, the other woman copying each movement. Tentatively, Elsa shifted her hand to cup Maren’s breast, and swallowed thickly when she felt Maren’s warm hand lift to cup hers. She ran her fingers over the soft, pliable skin, before brushing her thumb over her nipple. It was already hard under her thumb, as were her own, and her gaze flicked up to Maren’s face as she saw her pull her lip into her mouth with a sigh. Elsa couldn’t help herself from leaning up to kiss her, moving both her hands to Maren’s waist, caressing the soft skin. Their chests pressed together, and it felt amazing to finally feel the skin on skin contact. 

Maren reached behind her to pull Elsa's hair loose, then pushed her back down again, hovering above her as they continued to kiss. She propped herself up with one hand, exploring Elsa's body with the other. As she began to kiss a path down the centre of her chest Elsa felt her magic swirling, her arousal growing too much to contain, and frost started to form in odd places around the room. She ignored it, and was rewarded with a hot pair of lips on her nipple. She gasped, arching up into it as the lips parted, gently sucking it between them. Her hand flew to the back of Maren’s head, and the other reached up to grip her own hair. Her body seemed to have far too much energy, and it bucked on its own accord when Maren moved to her other breast, giving it the same treatment. 

“Maren…” She moaned her girlfriend’s name, and the woman sighed into her chest at the sound of it, the effect it had obvious. 

Maren’s hand began to stroke her thigh, fingertips grazing the outside first, before sliding round to brush the sensitive skin of her inner thigh with her thumb. Automatically, Elsa shifted the leg that wasn’t between Maren’s, parting them to give her more room. Maren looked down at the sight and groaned. Elsa felt her press her clothed groin against her thigh, and raised her leg a tiny amount to increase the pressure. Maren responded with a gasp, and pressed forward so her face was hidden in Elsa's neck. She ground down once, releasing a shuddering breath, but then stilled her hips. Elsa ran her hand down Maren’s back, reveling in how sensitive she seemed to be. 

Shivering in arousal, Maren turned her hand to place it fully between Elsa's legs. It was so warm, and Elsa craved move of it, pressing her hips up into the contact. Maren rubbed the area over her underwear lightly, giving Elsa a careful glance to make sure she was okay, before moving in to kiss her. She felt Maren move the arm that had been supporting her so that it tucked under her neck, twisting her body slightly so her hand could move better.

If the previous kisses had been hot, then this one was burning. With Maren’s hand between her legs, the kiss seemed to heat up her entire body, and spirals of magic bounced around inside of her. One of her arms was resting around Maren’s neck, the other around her back, and they both gripped her tightly as she increased her pressure, making her whimper into her lips. After a short while, Maren moved her hand up to run her finger tips around the line of her pants, asking for permission. 

“Can I..?” She seemed hesitant, the words whispered on her breath. Elsa nodded, feeling her body scream at the thought of direct contact. She flicked her eyes to the side for a second, checking on the frost that had covered most of the floor, proud of herself for not letting more magic escape yet.  _ Looks like the practising  _ was _ worth it. _

Resting her forehead against Elsa's, Maren slipped her hand into her underwear, running her fingers through the wetness there. Elsa shuddered, and her hips lifted fractionally. Her lips parted as Maren let her finger dip into the heat, sliding it down once, and then back up again to rest on her clit. She paused there, waiting for Elsa to open her eyes, before kissing her softly. She pressed down on the area, and rubbed it in a circular motion, making sure to keep the pressure light. After weeks of waiting, it felt better than any of the times she had touched herself. Maren’s touch was careful, but there was enough confidence and pressure there to drive her crazy. 

She lifted her head up, pressing her forehead into Maren’s shoulder, her breath coming in short gasps, before throwing it back onto the pillow at an angle. Maren moaned quietly as Elsa’s nails began to bite into her skin, increasing the speed of her finger after a minute, and resuming kissing down her neck. Elsa was alight with pleasure, the sensations in her body almost too much to handle. Her hips were moving on their own, and she bit her lip to hold in what would have been a  _ loud _ moan. 

The finger on her clit moved, and Elsa whined, eyes squeezing tighter. She moved down to stroke her entrance and Elsa stopped breathing as it slowly stroked its way inside of her. 

“Aah-” It felt strange, but as the finger slid deeper, curling, she felt a type of pleasure she hadn’t given to herself before. It felt like Maren was everywhere, and her skin tingled with hot energy, chest fluttering visibly as her breath caught and her heart beat wildly. She was close to the point she would usually stop.

The area where her magic originated sent a shock through her, and she only just managed to move her hands away from Maren’s body and onto the furs before shots of ice flew out around them. Maren gasped, as did she, and they both stilled. Elsa sucked in deep breaths, feeling herself begin to panic. Sliding her finger out, Maren quickly cupped her face, forcing her to look into her eyes. 

“Don’t panic. It’s okay.... It’s all okay.” She kissed Elsa's forehead, and then her cheeks, and finally placed a peck on her lips. Elsa tried to fight against the rising tears, the overwhelming need too much to handle when combined with the panic inside of her. 

“I don’t think I can do it… I don’t…” She carefully lifted her hands back around Maren, and they both noticed them trembling. 

“I have an idea baby, but you need to trust me okay?” Maren stroked a thumb over her cheek, and she knew that her desperate pleas, both to come down to a safe place, and to finally find that peak of pleasure, were written across her face as clear as day. She felt her throat close up against a sob, and nodded, placing her trust entirely in the other woman. 

“Okay,” she kissed her softly, taking her time, until Elsa's breathing was a little steadier. When she seemed satisfied, she slid both of her hands up Elsa's arms, pulling on them. When the pale arms released their hold, Maren moved her hands to cover Elsa's, pulling them up and placing them on the headboard behind her. 

“Hold on to this. Don’t let go, and when you feel yourself getting close just squeeze it okay?” Elsa wasn’t sure about Maren’s plan, but she took a breath and nodded, earning a smile from her. 

Despite the intermission, Elsa was still on a high, and her body was all too sensitive as Maren’s hands leisurely ran back down her arms and over her breasts, stopping at her waist to lean in and kiss the path her hands had taken. Her tongue swirled around her nipple briefly, and Elsa bit her lip, looking up to her hands as a shot of anxiousness ran through her. She looked at them curiously when she noticed the small tendrils of ice were spreading across the wood, but weren’t touching anything else. It made her relax a little to know it had a direction, and she decided it was now or never, closing her eyes and giving herself over to Maren’s touch. 

When Maren’s fingers slid down her stomach and back between her legs, she sighed, pushing her hips up into her hand. She spent a little time building her back up again, before slipping her finger inside once more. This time Elsa knew what to expect, and the full bodied pleasure was welcomed. Maren moved to place her forehead on Elsa's chest, curling her finger as she moved it back and forth. Most of Maren’s weight was on her knees, and she slipped her other hand down, using her thumb to rub Elsa's clit in the way she had learned she responded to best. 

It was hard to breathe, and she pressed her face into her own arm as the feelings grew stronger and stronger. When the finger inside her pulled out, and a second stroked at her entrance she stopped breathing entirely. They both slipped back inside slowly, until she could feel the base of Maren’s hand pressing against her. She gripped as hard as she could onto the headboard, and mildly registered the quiet sound of cracking ice. Magic leapt through her at speed as Maren’s fingers started to move and curl again, thumb still rubbing at her clit. 

“Maren!” She gasped out her lovers name, arching her body up desperately as she chased after the peak of her pleasure. 

“Elsa... Spirits…” Her prayer came out as a low pant. 

The head on her chest moved away, and she could only imagine that Maren much be watching her. Her hands sped up their movements slightly, and Elsa wasn’t sure if she gasped or sobbed. She was so close, closer than she had ever let herself get, and any worries she’d held disappeared as she whispered indistinguishable pleas into the evening air. The build up had been slow, but now she felt like she was on a ride she couldn’t get off of.

Suddenly, she felt a rush fly through her, a blast of pleasure and magic so strongly intertwined that she couldn’t make sense of it. 

“Aah!” She felt herself clench down, body arching off of the bed, elbows squeezing around her head, as she finally toppled over the edge, into the unknown. 

She held her breath for a few seconds, before she exhaled forcefully, her body trembling with aftershocks as Maren slowly brushed over her clit a few more times. Slowly, Maren pulled her fingers out, and kissed her chest a few times. There was a moment of motionless, their conjoined panting the only sound to break the silence.

“Elsa?” There was an uncertainty to Maren's tone. She opened her eyes carefully, not quite in her right mind yet, and let her arms drop tiredly onto the furs.

She gasped in a breath as she took in the scene.

Maren was looking around them in amazement. Glittering around them were hundreds of fractals of ice. They were tiny, and it made the air around them look like it was full of shimmering diamonds. She sat up quickly, turning around to look at the wooden headboard behind them. It was iced over completely, patterns of snowflakes etched into the ice throughout it. The room was still, as if it had been frozen in time, and the gentle sound of crackling ice was almost musical. 

“Wow…” Maren said, grinning in awe. 

“Oh…” Elsa felt extremely embarrassed all of a sudden. “ I can work on that?”

Maren laughed, and it was such a bright, merry sound, that Elsa couldn’t help but giggle shyly along with her. 

“Please don’t. Its beautiful... You’re absolutely beautiful.” She moved forward and kissed Elsa passionately. Elsa laughed into the kiss, feeling tears form in her eyes as her chest swelled. She felt them fall, and Maren pulled away when they touched her cheeks, flicking her eyes between Elsa's in a moment of worry. When she saw the smile on her face she sighed in relief, and flopped down on the bed, reaching up to pull Elsa down into the crook of her shoulder, squeezing her firmly to her chest. It was exactly what Elsa needed, and she settled into it allowing herself to feel safe, and wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's waist. Maren didn’t push her to return the favour, and after talking for a while, the laughter flowing freely, they fell asleep with their bodies intertwined as if they were one being. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys, the response to the last chapter has been incredible, Thank you! I know a lot of people have been waiting anxiously for this scene... so have fun.
> 
> hedgewitchbuffy - Thank you! I really tried to write it like an actual film scene, so knowing it came across well makes me really happy <3
> 
> lesbianprincess - I'm so glad you read it with the music, I had the song on repeat while I wrote it haha
> 
> fourxbin - Such a short comment, but honestly it was perfect. Thank you so much. x


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Elsa felt warm when she woke up. She curled up tighter on her side, her body feeling strangely drained as she left herself sink into the heat. It took her a minute to come around enough to realise there was a slight pressure on her waist, and arched her back subconsciously to move whatever it was away. The pressure stayed there, and as she shifted her hips with the movement she felt her rear press into something. The  _ something _ sighed behind her and she squeaked as her eyes flew open, quickly bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. 

Memories came flooding back to her; lewd images of Maren working her hand between them, mouth on her breast, their combined moans a melody in the air. She remembered the feeling of finally reaching climax thanks to her girlfriend’s loving guide, and a wave of tingling heat worked it way through her abdomen and between her legs.  _ I should have given up sooner… _

Carefully, she turned her head, rotating her body at the same time to lay flat on the bed. Her heart fluttered as she finally laid eyes on Honeymaren, sprawled out on her front with an arm thrown across Elsa's waist. Her hair was a dishevelled mess, similar to how her sisters was first thing in the morning, and she reached a hand over to brush it out of the woman's face. She stirred at the delicate touch, breathing in deeply and scrunching her eyes shut as a strand of hair tickled her nose. Elsa felt a smile form on her face, and placed her hand on Maren’s bare hip under the furs. Elsa hadn’t bothered to find night clothes, preferring the closeness of the skin on skin contact, and Maren had stripped the trousers off finally to leave her in her underwear. Luckily, Elsa had managed to throw an extra blanket over them before they fell asleep to keep Maren warm. 

As Maren slowly came to, Elsa was suddenly glad that they hadn’t bothered with clothes, as her girlfriend rolled onto her side, accidentally pushing the blankets aside and revealing her bare chest. She joined Maren on her side so they were face to face, and tucked one hand under her cheek, the other resting between them. When Maren’s eyes finally opened a fraction, a soft smile immediately grew on her face, and she sighed deeply, her breathing still heavy from the throws of sleep. 

“Morning Snowflake…” Maren said, voice low and quiet. She reached up a hand to play with Elsa's hair, and sighed again at the feel of it. 

“Good morning.” Elsa's heart was beating fast, nervous excitement settling over her. 

“How are you feeling?” Maren was still fighting off sleep, eyes drifting closed every few seconds. 

“A little drained.” Maren hummed in understanding. “But aside from that… amazing.” Elsa smiled, a small chuckle escaping her. 

“How's the headboard?” Maren asked with a smirk, before pushing up onto one elbow to take a look. They were both surprised to see it was entirely in one piece, having thawed out once Elsa's magic had calmed down, leaving little to no damage. Elsa chuckled again, shifting in closer to Maren, who laid on her back to make room for her to nestle into the crook of her shoulder. 

“I think it could take another beating…” Elsa flirted, and this time it was Maren who laughed. 

“It was that good huh?” Maren ran her hand up and down Elsa's arm, and gave her forehead a kiss. The contact made Elsa crave more, and she tilted her head to press their lips together, letting the contact last before cuddling up tighter into her side. 

“It was amazing.” She felt Maren give her arm a squeeze, and thought over the events of the evening prior. When she spoke next, there was a tentativeness to her voice. “Maren?”

“Yeah?” 

“That… wasn’t your first time doing that was it?” Elsa felt Maren’s body tense, her breathing stilling for a moment. She seemed to be considering her reply, but her body’s response gave Elsa the answer. It made her heart hurt to know that Maren had been intimate with someone else, but considering their ages, it wasn’t that surprising. She was too gorgeous for people not to have been interested. 

“No, it wasn’t. When I was a teenager, a friend and I got curious... We experimented a few times, and then tried dating briefly, but it didn’t really work out so we just went back to being friends.” Maren seemed unsure about telling her, but Elsa was glad she didn’t try and hide it. 

“Oh, okay.” She couldn’t hide the twinge of sadness in her voice even though she tried, and Maren brought her face up to look at her. 

“Are you okay?” She didn’t seem annoyed at her for being a little jealous, even though it was uncalled for, which made Elsa sigh. 

“I wish Atohallen called for me years ago. Maybe then  _ I _ could have been the one experimenting with you.” She smiled, and the light heartedness of her words made Maren relax. “ _ But… _ I am curious to know who it was?” She quirked an eyebrow at Maren, who groaned, throwing her arms out flat on the bed on either side of her. 

“ _ Why _ would you want to know that?” 

Elsa moved to half lay on her, lifting herself up with her elbows. She grinned smugly down at Maren as the other woman tried to avoid her gaze. It was clear she was embarrassed, and although Elsa might not have been entirely happy that she wouldn’t be Maren's first, her desire to know everything about her, good and bad, outweighed her anxieties. 

“If  _ you  _ don’t tell me, I’m sure Ryder will, so you may as well just say it now.” She was more than a little aware of their naked bodies pressed together, and from the slight shift of Maren’s hips, she was too, but Elsa remained firm, determined to get her answers. 

“Is that really a good idea…” Maren pulled her brows together, avoiding giving her a name. 

“What do you think I’m going to do, freeze her dinner?” Elsa laughed as she said it, knowing full well that she had done exactly once to a servant who had told her off as a young child. 

“Hmm…” Maren frowned one last time before groaning. “You remember Norá?” 

Elsa frowned. 

“Norá? As in, Ikká’s daughter?” Maren noddled lightly, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment. Elsa looked at her, surprised, before laughing. “What, you couldn’t get the older woman so you went for her daughter? I know you said you idolised her but I didn’t think you’d go that far!”

Maren tried to roll away in shame, but Elsa dragged her back, still laughing. She shifted to sit with her knees on either side of Marens hips as the woman began to struggle away from her playfully. Maren tried to reach up and push Elsa backwards, but she grabbed Maren’s wrists, pinning them down. She leaned in close, and it was clear from the grin on Maren’s face that she was definitely letting Elsa win their little play fight. Elsa might have been more powerful due to her magic, but Maren easily dwarfed her in regards to physical strength. 

“Happy now?” Maren asked with a huff, but her expression was light. 

“Yes actually.” Her eyes flicked down to Maren’s lips, and she closed the distance without much thought. She let her hands slip up from Maren’s wrists and into her hands, intertwining their fingers. Pressing her chest in closer, she once again became aware of their nakedness, and rolled her hips when a wave of arousal passed through her. She parted their lips with a gasp as she accidentally rubbed her crotch against the mound between Marens legs. She was still wet from their antics the evening before, and their flirting this morning, and it left a mark on Maren’s pants. Elsa coughed in embarrassment, feeling a small amount of warmth prickle at the skin of her chest, and let go of Maren’s hands to sit up, bracing herself by placing her hands on Maren’s stomach. Unfortunately, the position only made her situation worse, pushing the area down onto the fabric fully, and she stilled. Slowly, Maren lowered her hands to place them on Elsa's hips. There was a silence that passed between, eyes glued to each others. The hands on her hips gripped more firmly, and pulled forwards, making her grind down against her before pushing back. She repeated the action once,  _ twice _ …

“ _ Honeymaren…”  _ She sighed her name and Maren groaned quietly, stilling her hands. She took a deep breath and tore her eyes away from Elsa's mildly flushed skin, staring at the ceiling instead. They both realistically knew that they couldn’t go any further without dedicating time that they didn’t have. 

“This is my fault, I’m sorry, I got carried away.” Maren sighed the words, fingers twitching on Elsa's hips as she fought against her desires. 

“No, its… we’re both to blame.” Elsa chuckled, removing herself from atop Marens form to climb off of the bed. She knew that they hadn’t sorted out Maren’s needs yet, but she didn’t want _ that  _ first to be rushed just because they couldn’t wait until the evening. “Maybe… later…?” She wet her lips, eyes raking over Maren’s chest, across her stomach, and down to her underwear. She hadn’t had the chance to look under her trousers the evening prior, so she took the opportunity now, eagerly memorizing the tan skin of her upper thighs, and the two damp patches on her underwear, one from herself, and one clearly from Maren. She woman visibly shivered, and wasn’t sure if it was from the cold, Elsa's hungry gaze, or the idea of her returning the favour. 

“Yeah… later, definitely.” Maren responded, and Elsa watched her eyes devour seemingly every inch of her body in return as she stood there fully nude, hair falling messily over her shoulders. It made her breathing quicken. 

Suddenly, a thought came to her.

“Oh! I forgot to say, Anna mentioned in her letter yesterday that they found some texts that look like they are from Northuldra. They’re waiting for us in the library whenever we want to go back and see them?” Elsa got dressed as she spoke, hoping that covering herself up might help their raging hormones. 

“Really?!” Maren seemed shocked, but pleased. She sat up in bed, thinking, and Elsa watched her curiously as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to tame the white locks. They had spoken a few times about teaching each other how to read their own writings, but so far they hadn’t done much about it. Elsa had shown Maren how to write their names, and Maren had shown her a few bits too, but learning a new alphabet took time. Yelena had agreed to help her learn, but she had been hoping to find a book from home that would give her the motivation to learn faster, so she could read what her mother had read as a child. Honeymaren had been surprisingly intrigued by the idea, and was almost more excited than her to find something.

“Do you think we could go today?” Maren asked, and Elsa balked. 

“Today? I doubt Yelena would be too pleased about that. I thought you had to see to the reindeer today and tomorrow?” Elsa wasn’t just going to let Maren get into trouble to skipping out on jobs. If she really was going to be the next leader of the Northuldra then she needed to play the part at least. Otherwise Yelena would have her head. 

“Well yeah, but Ryder owes me, and It gives him a reason to hang out with Heidi.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Elsa laughed. “Plus, you said riding down on Nokk via the river cuts the time right? I think I would be okay with that now.” 

“If you can clear it with them then sure, I’d love to go.” Elsa smiled as Maren smiled, throwing herself out of bed getting dressed quickly. 

  
  


***

As they arrived in Arendelle, after a much shorter journey than usual, Elsa noticed with curiosity that a large, grand boat was parked in their port. She recognised the flag as belonging to Weselton, and groaned. 

“What’s wrong?” Maren asked, adjusting her clothes to sit right. 

“Looks like Weselton are visiting…” She explained. “Their Duke is a little… eccentric. And doesn’t like me very much.” She sighed, but pulled her lip up into a smile at the look of concern on Maren’s face. Sure that no one was watching, Elsa placed a quick, gentle kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek. “I’m sure he’s just here to try and scam us out of money or something...lets go.” 

Elsa felt bad for making Maren hide their relationship while in the kingdom, but with Arendelle’s typical reaction to same-sex relations being to not discuss it, she had decided it was best to wait before pushing that boundary. Obviously, it had hurt Maren to hear that she still wanted to keep their relationship private, but she had seemed to understand, much to Elsa’s relief. 

Her former subjects seemed happy to see her as they made their way through the town. She took the time to say hello to a few of them, and made a tiny ice sculpture for an excited child. Noticing Maren’s soft smile, Elsa realised she seemed to always take great pleasure in seeing her interacting with the people of Arendelle, the children especially.

“Why do you always look at me like that?” She asked.

“I like seeing you with the children.” Maren admitted, looking down and gripping her hands behind her back. “You’re so gentle with them.” She kicked a stone as she walked, clearly embarrassed to have been caught out. 

“Oh… I’m pretty bad at interacting with… well, anyone really. You and Ryder are always so good at playing with children, I don’t know how you do it.” Elsa said, looking up at the castle as they neared it.

“I like playing with them, and It’s good practise.” Elsa’s eyes flew to Maren’s delicate smile, and felt her heart beat pick up. The world seemed to stop for a moment as a rush of panic flew through her. “I bet Anna will be calling on you for babysitting duty before you know it, so it’s good to get used to them sooner rather than later.” 

Elsa felt weak. For a second she wondered if she was going to pass out from lightheadedness, but she fought to steady herself, noticing that Maren seemed completely unaware of her distress. She hummed in agreement, not trusting herself to speak. She could handle Anna having a child, just about, but for a moment she had thought…  _ does Maren want to have a child?  _ She gave her a sidewards glance and swallowed. Removed the thought from her head she looked back up, not wanting to think too hard about it. 

When they entered the castle gates Elsa relaxed. All guards and servants were sworn to secrecy about what happened inside the castle walls, and she knew they already had suspicions about their relationship anyway, after Anna had set up their first date. Whether they knew already or not, none of them would risk a well paid job just to spread a rumour that Elsa wasn’t giving any evidence to in public. A guard nodded to her when they reached the main doors.

“Your Highness, Queen Anna is in the meeting room with the Duke of Weselton. Should I make her aware of your return?” He spoke formally, but there was a smile on his dark face. 

“Yes, thank you, Filip.” She returned his smile, and Maren raised her eyebrows. She leaned in close to Elsa's ear and whispered to her as they walked. 

“How do you remember everyone's names? You have so many staff…” They followed behind him, and Elsa chuckled at the comment. 

“It’s a queens job to know everyone by name. Including as many of the citizens as she can.” Elsa had tried her best as queen, and judging by the continued love she was getting from people, she seemed to have done a decent job. 

Filip knocked on the double doors to the formal meeting room, and then disappeared inside. They heard the voice of Anna from inside, and then Filip returned to them.

“She requests your presence now, Your Highness.” Elsa sighed, unsure why Anna would bother greeting her during her meeting. She was expecting a quick hello before she got back to work. 

“Both of you.” He added.

Elsa’s eyebrows shot up at his words, as did Maren’s, but after a quick glance at each other they entered the room, Maren following a step behind the ex-queen. 

“Elsa!” Anna rushed over to her, wrapping her up in a hug. It was incredibly informal, and Elsa looked around the room to judge the situation. To her surprise, there were only a couple of people there. Kristoff was sat around the large meeting table, and he nodded politely at her, but other than that there was only the Duke and his wife sat opposite them, and their two personal bodyguards. It was common for there to have been at least some staff to take minutes of the conversation, but this appeared to be more informal. She let herself hug Anna back, but retreated swiftly. 

“Ah, Els _ a _ …” The duke stood up, bowing to her, and his wife delivered a quick courtesy. She returned the gesture, no longer in a position of power over them, and inhaled slowly to avoid cringing at the way he lingered on the last syllable of her name. 

“Duke, Duchess, It’s a pleasure.” She said stoically. 

“Yes…” He said suspiciously, and looked behind her to Honeymaren. Elsa felt herself tense, feeling her hands tighten as he looked her lover up and down. When he didn’t comment she breathed a sigh of relief, and they all sat down at the table. Elsa chose a seat next to Anna, and gestured for Maren to sit next to her. 

“The Duke was offering to help with the trade deal with the Northuldra.” Anna gave Elsa a look, which when paired with the clearly fake brightness of her voice, obviously told Elsa she wasn’t actually considering taking him up on that offer. 

“Indeed! I heard on the grape vine that you were planning to deal some tradeable goods between Northuldra and Arendelle, maybe even the Southern Isles if my sources are reliable, which I'm certain they are. I’m sure I could be of much use to you when organising such a deal. You know how close I am with the King of the Southern Isles. And with many other Kings mind you… and  _ queens _ of course.” He laughed, and both Anna and Elsa smiled falsely, though Kristoff and Maren just blinked blankly. 

“And as I’ve stated, these deals are already past the point in which you could be of help. I’m sure if we ever need your particular skills we will get in contact.” Anna stated, and Elsa quickly realised that this meeting was going about as well as every other meeting with the Duke had gone in the past. They say no, and he continues to push until eventually giving up and leaving. Perhaps Anna had called her in to help.

“Besides,” she began, hoping her words would put him off the deal in the first place, “there aren’t many tradeable goods in Northuldra that you would be interested in.  _ And _ they will only ever be small, infrequent transactions, and you tend to deal with much more important deals.” She pandered to his interests and ego, hoping to deter him. There was no chance she would let him be involved in Northuldra business. 

“Hmmm... I see.” He looked over the top of him glasses at her, wiggling his moustache slightly, and then pinned his stare on Maren instead. Elsa tensed once more. “I take it this young lady is of Northuldra?” 

Maren nodded shyly, smiling politely. It was clear she was uncomfortable with the sudden attention, and Elsa wished she could save her without ruining relations with the Duke for her sister. 

“Ahh I see! Do tell me your name, I’m sure it's as lovely as you are beautiful.” He flaunted his charm, and Elsa and Anna both rolled their eyes, giving each other a look. 

“Honeymaren…” She responded, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She nodded, obviously trying her best to follow the etiquette she had seen. 

“ _ Honey _ maren, a lovely name indeed. Hmmn, are you perchance one of the… rulers… of Northuldra?” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, wagging his eyebrows. His wife didn’t seem to blink an eye at his antics, and Elsa had to bite back a sneer. It was clear he wanted to win her over to take advantage of Northuldra. 

“I uh- no” Honeymaren seemed to not know how to respond, and looked to Elsa and Anna for a way out. Anna laughed, jumping on her cue. 

“Honeymaren is Elsa’s girlfriend, and participates in a lot of Arendellian meetings on behalf of the Northuldra.” It wasn’t entirely true, but Elsa froze for a different reason than the lie. 

She had been keeping her relationship, and attraction to women a secret from the public for a reason, and to just out her like that...The room seemed to grow still, and the temperature dropped a few degrees suddenly. It took a few seconds for Elsa to realise her magic was slipping out so strongly, and tried to regain control. She pictured her baby reindeer, trembling in fear, and tried to shush it, telling it that everything would be okay. Everyone had their eyes on her, half because of the temperature drop, and half because they were digesting Anna’s words.

“ _ Girlfriend _ ?” The duke spoke, and the horror in his voice was clear as day. Elsa stopped breathing, and felt Maren grab at her knee, rubbing her thumb soothingly over it under the table. 

“Yes?” Anna confirmed, frowning between Elsa and the Duke of Weselton. 

Kristoff groaned, Elsa caught him throw her a worried glance. The Duke barked a single laugh, and pushed his chair away. 

“First you try to destroy your own kingdom with sorcery, and now you're pushing  _ these  _ filthy relations on Arendelle as well! I  _ knew  _ you were evil!” He stood up, turning half away with a dramatic flair. 

“Now wait just a second!” Kristoff stood up angrily, leaving a confused Anna and traumatised Elsa sat at the table. Maren made to stand up too, but seemed to restrain herself, gripping harder at Elsa's knee. She was thankful, she needed the contact to ground her and keep her calm, so she wouldn’t start a storm by accident. 

“This family of  _ heretics _ will ruin this Kingdom!” He pointed at Elsa, screwing his face up. His wife stood up too, moving to stand next to the guards. 

“If you speak one more word about this  _ family _ , I will have you escorted from the premises and banned from returning, do you under _ stand _ ?” Kristoff’s voice raised on the last word, and he brought his fist down on the table, a loud bang reverberating through the room. Silence fell over the room. After a few moments the Duke huffed, standing up as straight as a pole, nose in the air. 

“Queen Anna.” He bowed to her, as did the rest of his party, before seeing themselves out of the room. As soon as they left, snow started to fall around them, and Elsa took slow and steady breaths to keep it from going any further. 

“How dare he?!” Anna scoffed, outraged. Kristoff practically growled, livid. 

“Elsa?” Honeymaren whispered, leaning in at an angle, trying to catch her eye. “Baby?” Elsa didn’t respond, and Maren’s concerned face grew even more worried. 

“If he thinks he can get away with talking to us like that then he has another thing coming!” Anna stood up as she spoke, leaning heavily on the table with her arms. 

“I’ll have him arrested if he tries that again....” Kristoff said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah! Or… or I-” Anna spoke, but Elsa cut her off.

“That's  _ enough  _ Anna!” She spoke loudly, pushing herself up and turning angrily to her sister. “What did you think was going to happen, huh? What, just because  _ you _ accept me everyone else will too? Well surprise, surprise, that’s  _ not _ how it works.” Anna turned to Elsa, recoiling slightly, a pained look on her face. Elsa's eyes were filled with unshed tears, and her clenched fists trembled.

“Elsa, come on-” Kristoff tried to step in to defend his fiancee, but Elsa held a finger up to him, requesting he stay out of it. He and Maren exchanged a glance, and kept their mouths shut.

“ _ You’re _ my sister, you have to accept me, but most people already see me as a freak for having these powers. I  _ don’t  _ need you telling them I like women and making them hate me even more.” Elsa spat the words, her emotional state clouding her judgement. She was upset, and angry at more than just Anna, but she needed a direction to throw her feelings. 

“Elsa… I’m sorry.. I thought-” Anna’s eyes filled with tears, and her breathing caught as she inhaled, clearly hurt deeply by Elsa's words. 

“You  _ didn’t _ think, Anna. My life is _ not _ your secret to tell.” She saw the tears slide down Anna’s face, and her heart broke. 

“Elsa…” Maren said carefully. “She was wrong, but getting angry at her won’t solve anything.” Maren reached out to take her hand from behind, but Elsa yanked it away, and a large but weak blast of ice shot across the table. 

“Don’t. Please.” Her voice broke as she spoke, and she turned, avoiding Maren’s hurt expression as she walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of surprised I managed to keep up mostly with my schedule over Christmas, but with all your lovely comments its actually been easy to find the motivation. I apologise if i killed you with the smut... but it was fun reading the responses. 
> 
> Millacnin - The height of Elsa has been an issue for me the whole way through this fic. During the first 5 chapters I actually re-wrote it all to change her height because I was so unsure haha I think you're right, but I'm happy to go with the idea that in this fic she's like two inches taller in heels, and 2 inches shorter out of them... I dunno, somewhere around that?
> 
> GoldenCrusader - I have had the image of those fractals of ice in my head for a long time, so I knew I had to get it in here somehow. I'm so glad people like it!
> 
> R - Your comments have been lovely, thank you! I really love the way I've made Maren... I'm a little worried that if my version isn't true to reality when deleted scenes/Frozen 3 comes out I'll be disappointed


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

  
  


Anna’s sobs filled the silence as soon as the door shut. Maren was rooted to her spot on the floor, looking at the ornate wood and wishing that she could go back and redo the past few minutes. Her chest hurt, Elsa's icy rejection leaving a throbbing inside of it that pained her more than she cared to admit. More than anything, she wanted to go after Elsa, to make sure she was okay and talk her down from the place she was in, but her own emotional turmoil kept her still. Elsa needed a steady shoulder to cry on, and at that moment she knew she couldn’t provide it. She was hurt, and making Elsa feel guilty for her outburst wouldn’t solve anything. 

“Why am I  _ like  _ this?!” Anna sobbed, collapsing back into her chair, and drawing Maren’s attention. “I always manage to say or-” she sobbed again, “-or do the wrong thing, and I-” she sniffed, “I  _ hurt  _ her every time.” 

Kristoff sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

“Hey, you didn’t know that she woul-” He tried to comfort her, but she interrupted him.

“-Why not! I’m supposed to know Elsa better than anyone... And she’s right! I thought that everyone would just not care because I don’t... but I was wrong...  _ again _ , and now I’ve really hurt her…” She dropped her head into her hands, crying her heart out. Kristoff held her while she sobbed, rubbing her back. 

Maren had gotten to know Anna better since engaging in her relationship with Elsa, and she knew that the redhead was a good person. But both sisters had been through so much in their lives and they struggled with a lot of doubts and insecurities that manifested themselves in a variety of ways. Anna and Elsa were able to understand each other on a level that no one else would ever be able to, but they were also able to hurt each other deeply too. She looked back at the door quickly, clenching her jaw against the lump in her throat. 

“I’m an awful sister.” Anna whispered into her hands, and Maren made a split second decision. She couldn’t be what Elsa needed while she was also hurting, but she  _ could  _ be there for  _ Anna, _ to make sure Elsa wouldn’t feel any worse when she came round, and inevitably regretted the words she’d spoken out of fear and anger. Kristoff was trying to make her feel better, whispering words of love and support, and it made Maren’s lips curl in a small smile. 

“Anna.” She sat next to the girl, placing a hand carefully on her knee. She lifted her face, tears of despair running down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. “You are a fantastic sister. Elsa loves you more than anything else on this planet, trust me. She’ll forgive you.” 

Anna sniffed, seeking out a lie on Marens face. 

“You really think so?” She asked. Her voice wobbled with uncertainty, twisting Maren’s heart and making her feel her sadness as if it were her own. Because of her magic revealing her every emotion, it had always felt like Elsa was left dealing with the majority of issues from their upbringing, but it was clear that Anna held just as many anxieties hidden beneath the surface of her bubbly persona. It seemed she was balancing on a knife’s edge, tiptoeing around Elsa for fear she would lose her again; the constant rejection she’d endured as a child damaging her far more than anyone seemed to realise.

“Of course.” She saw Kristoff visibly relax, and they both smiled at Anna to reassure her. Kristoff stood up, and the girls looked at him curiously.

“I’ll check on Elsa, and then I’m going to go make some hot chocolate, I think we could all do with one. I’ll see you in the lounge in a bit, okay?” He gave Maren a long look, conveying a level of trust in her that was unexpected.

Maren nodded to him. It meant a lot for him to trust her to help Anna through her emotions, and the same for her to trust him with Elsa. He slipped out of the room quietly, and Maren scooted closer to Anna, the scraping of the chair drawing her weeping eyes to her. 

“Anna… what you did… you can’t just tell people about Elsa's sexuality if she’s not ready for that yet. Trust me, I don’t  _ like _ having to hide our relationship when we’re in Arendelle, but she’s scared, and it’s going to take her a bit more time to be fully comfortable with who she is. From what she’d told me, she was devastated when the people turned against her for her magic, and I think she’s afraid they’ll do it again if they find out she’s different in anyway.” 

She tried her best to explain how it must feel for Elsa, without sounding too harsh. She was sure Elsa felt betrayed, and terrified of what might happen next, but they could talk about that themselves once the worst of the outburst had been dealt with. 

“I know… I just… Since Elsa and you started dating she’s been so happy, and I thought she was okay with it now… She’s right though… I really don’t think before I speak.” Anna’s tears had dried up, but she brought her feet up onto the chair, hugging her knees close to her. 

“You do tend to say things without thinking about the consequences… but that doesn’t make you a bad sister. In fact, if it wasn’t for this particular situation I would say that you were being incredibly supportive by announcing our relationship so proudly. You’re our biggest fan… well other than maybe Kristoff...” She laughed lightly, and Anna chuckled too. 

“I’m so proud of her. I just want her to be happy, but I keep messing it up.” She sighed, resting her chin on her knee. 

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything you know. You’ve made mistakes, but so has Elsa. She was angry and lashed out at you, but it was clear you didn’t say what you did out of malice, and you didn’t deserve that reaction.” Maren gave her a sad smile, and Anna pinned her with a worried look of her own. She sniffed, and wiped her face quickly.

“Are  _ you _ okay?” Anna asked her. Maren thought about her answer for a second, and sighed. 

“It hurts to get pushed away like that, I won’t lie… but I understand why she did it.” 

“You  _ always _ understand. Don’t you have  _ any _ flaws?” Anna rolled her eyes and Maren laughed. 

“I’ve been told I’m bossy… though I beg to differ.” She put a hand out in front of her dramatically as she spoke, raising her eyebrows. It made Anna laugh, which in turn brought a smile to her own face. “I’m definitely easily distracted… and I’m scared of a lot of things.” 

“Looks like you are human after all.” Anna said, with a chuckle. They smiled at each other, and sat for a moment in the quiet allowing them some time to think. Eventually Maren broke the silence.

“Elsa has come so far already. It’s incredible really, considering where she started. I know there are going to be ups and downs, but I… I care about her so much. If it takes years for her to feel comfortable holding my hand in Arendelle then I’ll wait for that day.” Maren looked down, remembering Elsa's beautiful smile from that morning. It had taken a lot to get them to a point where Elsa was comfortable admitting her feelings, and just as long for her to trust herself enough to engage in a sexual relationship. She knew this battle of complete acceptance could be the hardest of all, as she had seen the people's fear and hatred once before when her powers were first revealed. It made sense that this would hurt Elsa intimately, and she was determined to stay by her side and help her through it for as long as it takes. Anything to get to see her smile again. 

“Do you love her?” Anna’s voice drifted over to her, and Maren’s eyes widened, feeling her heart flutter. 

“I- We’ve only been dating a month Anna…” She avoided the question, nervous suddenly. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the answer, but she was pretty sure Elsa wasn’t at that point yet, and she wouldn’t push her.

“Maybe so, but you had feelings for her before that right? I knew I loved Kristoff in two weeks.” Anna prompted her to answer, leaning forward on her chair slightly to get a better view of Maren’s face. “So? Do you?”

She bit her lip, feeling her heart beat wildly under Anna’s questioning gaze. 

“I think you know the answer to that…” She whispered, a blush creeping up the back of her neck. Her heart stuttered in her chest and she hoped Elsa was okay.

***

Elsa was pacing in her room. Her magic was mostly under control, thanks to a few breathing exercises, but her mind was a whirling mess. No matter how she looked at it, Anna’s mistake had put them all in danger. If the people of Arendelle found out about her relationship with Maren and didn’t approve, then the royal family’s ability to rule might be called into question. Considering the Duke’s response, she was more sure than ever that others would disapprove. Tears burned in her eyes again, but she fought them off, trying to prevent herself from slipping into mindless panic. She tried to think about the problem logically, but every time her mind would conjure an outcome more catastrophic than the last.

“Ughh! Why did you have to say anything, Anna!” Elsa felt terrible for taking out her emotions on her younger sister, knowing her intentions were pure, but the feeling of history repeating itself had driven her to lash out. Once again, Anna had accidentally revealed her secrets, and just like before she was being called evil and disgusting. It hurt, and she felt her old nightmares worm their way out to terrorise her again. 

Bringing her hands to the sides of her head, she dropped to the floor, crouching with her knees close to her face. She squeezed her eyes closed, calming her magic as it tried to shoot out of her. She’d gotten much better at controlling it, and although a few small barbed icicles had formed on the ceiling, she was mostly managing. She felt awful for using her magic when she pulled away from Maren. She felt bad enough that she’d pulled away in the first place, but the fact that she’d resorted to magic, no matter how accidental, made her feel sickened. Breathing slowly, she pushed the feelings aside, needing to make sense of what to do before she could even begin to think about her relationship. 

_ Hopefully the Duke won’t say anything. We banned him from Arendelle once before, so he knows Kristoff wasn’t bluffing. He won’t risk losing his contacts here, even if he does hate me. But that won’t stop him from spreading rumours. It won’t be long before people get suspicious… my move to Northuldra and refusal to take a husband won’t go far to disprove it. They’ll come after us and Anna’s going to be put in an impossible situation. Northuldra might lose their trade deals if the discourse gets too bad.  _

_ Maybe I can make Anna tell them that she sent me to Northuldra on purpose, and that’s why she took the crown. That would hurt… I’d never be allowed back… But at least Anna would be able to keep ruling as Queen. She has Kristoff, and she’s already used to me living away, so she would be okay.  _

A knock sounded on the door, but she ignored it, too lost in the spiralling thoughts.. 

_ Either that, or I try and appease the Duke… I could make a deal to let him in on the Northuldra trade in return for an oath of secrecy? He would jump on that in an instant, anything that would offer him power over me.  _

“Elsa?” Kristoff’s voice made its way through the wooden door, and she stood up as he pushed it open. His wild blonde hair bounced as he entered the room, carefully closing the door behind him. Elsa saw him take in the ice on the ceiling with a sigh, before finally letting his eyes rest on her. She knew she was shaking, and could feel the tears still playing at her eyes. He walked over slowly, not saying a word. 

Something about his posturing made Elsa weak, and when he finally stopped in front of her she felt herself break down, letting her head fall onto his chest. Physical affection wasn’t something she was usually comfortable with, but Maren’s warmth was training her to seek it out more, and Kristoff had become a rock when she needed support. She began to sob, and his arms wrapped around her firmly, drawing her in close. Her own arms hung pathetically by her side, and she felt ashamed of herself. 

“What am I going to do?” She whispered into his chest as she cried. 

“What do you mean?” He asked softly, confusion clear in his voice. 

“If the Duke tells everyone… they’re going to come after me and Anna. The Duke is right, they’ll think I’m ruining the kingdom, and Anna will be hated too.” Kristoff’s arms tightened, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. 

“The  _ Duke _ is a dick. None of that is going to happen, okay?” There was a certainty in Kristoffs words, and Elsa pulled away, looking at him desperately. 

“How do you  _ know? _ ” She pleaded with him to give her an answer that she could believe. She had come to terms with liking women herself, and loved being open about it in Northuldra, but Arendelle was an entirely different matter. She knew they didn’t view it the same way as the Northuldra, and risking her home and family for her relationship… it pained her to think about. 

“Because the people love you. They aren’t bad people, even if they  _ are _ a little ignorant. Look at you and Anna, neither of you understood it at first, but it took you two all of a fortnight before it was normal.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “And Oaken! He has a whole family with his boyfriend, and people still love him!”

“He lives outside of town…” She couldn’t help but think that maybe he didn’t feel welcome in town with his family. 

“He told me he moved there because trade was better, not because of any discrimination from Arendelle.” He smiled at her, and she realised he was right. Even Anna had gathered that Oaken had a boyfriend, despite being oblivious to a lot of other things, and it certainly seemed like common knowledge. People still didn’t discuss it openly, but she hadn’t heard a bad word said about him and his `good friend`. 

“People weren’t exactly impressed when they realised I had magic… what if they-”

“Chase you with pitchforks? Run you out of town? Elsa, they let you be their queen even with your magic, and now they love it! Whether they accept it quickly like Anna did, or if it takes a while like with your magic, no one is going to run you out of town just for loving someone. In fact, most people will probably just be amazed you finally accepted a suitor.” He laughed, and Elsa let a shy smile form.

His conviction made her feel better, and although she was still deeply worried, he had taken the edge off. He led her to the bed, and sat down next to her on the purple sheets. She thought for a moment, and Kristoff let her mull it over, watching her carefully for any sign that she was slipping back under. 

“I don’t know If I believe you, but I want to.” She said finally. Her chest felt tight still, and her hands were clenched into fists as they rested on her knees. 

“No matter what happens Elsa, we’ll be here for you, and we love you unconditionally. That's really all that matters.” 

She smiled at him, and the doubts in her head started to fade away. Even if the worst did happen, they would find a way of dealing with it. Deep down she knew that the people loved Anna and Kristoff too much to say anything bad about them, even if the worst did happen. Plus, even if she  _ did _ have to leave, she still had Maren.

“Is… is Maren okay?” Her guilt swelled as she imagined how hurt the woman must have been after her cold rejection. Although she was glad that Kristoff was the one who had come to talk to her, to lift her up before she faced the other two, she knew the only reason Maren wouldn’t have come after her immediately would be because she was upset. 

“She seemed hurt. You’ll need to talk to her, but I think she just needed a minute to process.” He gave her a sympathetic look as she nodded sadly. 

“And Anna?” She asked nervously, knowing that her sister was probably miserable. She could still see her eyes filling with tears as she spat angry words at her. 

“She… is a mess. She was wrong, for sure, but what you said has really hurt her. Maren’s talking to her though, so she’ll be okay.” Kristoff remained impartial, but Elsa could see the emotions swirling in his eyes. He loved Anna, and Elsa knew that hearing her speak to his fiancee like that must have hurt him too. 

“I’m sorry… Do you think she’ll forgive me?” Her words were raspy as she swallowed down another wave of oncoming tears. 

“Of course she will, you’re her sister.” He nudged her with his shoulder, and she nodded, biting her lip. He was right. 

“Now!” He stood, brushing his hair back with a grin. “Come and make some hot chocolate with me and we can all sit down and talk.”

***

Elsa was nervous as she entered the lounge with a mug of hot chocolate cradled between her hands. It was burning her palm a little, but she was using the uncomfortable sensation to keep herself grounded. Olaf was sat on the sofa next to Anna, telling her about his day. She was laughing at his words, but her slightly curled over posture betrayed her underlying sadness. Maren sat on a single armchair in front of Sven, leaning over with her elbows on her knees to listen; she seemed relaxed. Elsa felt her stomach turn when they noticed her arrival, and she shrunk into herself. 

“Elsa!” Anna said quickly, eyes widening. It was clear that she hadn’t expected her to return so soon. She couldn’t blame her sister for being surprised, it was normal for her to hide away for an hour or two, if not longer, after their fights before making an appearance. However, she didn’t want to wait to make amends with Maren, and despite her lingering annoyance over Anna’s mistake, she couldn’t bear the thought that she had hurt the girl so badly. 

Kristoff brushed past her, awkwardly balancing several mugs of hot chocolate in his hands, a grimace on his face. Olaf’s face lit up, and he jumped off of the sofa, almost knocking Kristoff over as he reached up excitedly for a drink. 

“Oh! Oh! I  _ love _ hot chocolate!” He said excitedly, his nasally voice making the women smile. 

“Hang on!” Kristoff sloshed a bit of the drinks over the edge of the mug as he tried to set them down on a table, a drop of it landing on Olaf’s nose. He giggled, and tried to slurp it off, before giving up and grabbing a drink. Kristoff sighed heavily, but the fondness on his face was plain to see. 

Tawny eyes pinned her with a stare, and Elsa met Honeymaren’s gaze, feeling her heart jump. She looked down, trying to hide her embarrassment, but soon heard a rustling as the woman stood up to make her way over to her. She took Elsa's drink, holding it to the side and using her other hand to bring Elsa's face up. Her eyes looked between Elsa’s, and then she placed a gentle but lingering kiss on her lips.

“I’m so sorry.” Elsa said immediately after, and she took a step closer, letting her arms wrap around Maren’s waist. The darker woman returned the hug with her free arm, squeezing her firmly. 

“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain yourself. I’m sorry I didn’t go after you right away, are you okay?” Concern swam through Maren’s voice like it was a stream, and Elsa sighed into her neck, placing a quick kiss there. 

“I’ve been better, but I think I'm okay. Thank you for looking after Anna…” She pulled away as she spoke, letting her gratitude show on her face. 

“Always.” Elsa wanted to say more, to tell her how bad she felt to pulling away, to explain that the magic had been an accident, to make her understand… but the forgiveness in Maren’s expression told her she didn’t need to. They would talk more later, but it was clear that all was well between them.

Kristoff was fussing over Anna, making sure that she was okay. It was obvious that not being there had been hard for him, but it had been important for Anna to hear it from someone else. It showed how much he loved her, to let her get the help she needed even though it wasn’t from him. Sven had wandered closer, and Anna was petting him on the head for comfort. Elsa smiled at the threes sweet exchange, and caught Anna’s eye.

“Hi…” She said, and the redhead teared up, standing. 

“Elsa I’m so sorry!” She launched straight into her apologies, getting her emotions out in the open. “I was stupid and I- I didn’t think... I shouldn’t have told him, and I promise I won’t do it again! Please forgive me!” Anna’s eyes were still puffy from her earlier tears, and with a fresh wave of them starting to fall, she looked particularly sorry for herself. Elsa sighed, and walked over to stand in front of her, taking her hands. 

“I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it... I lashed out because I was afraid of what might happen if everyone found out… I still am… but I shouldn’t have said those things to you, Anna. I’m sorry.” She gave her sister’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Do you forgive me?” Anna said, sniffing.

“Of course I forgive you!” Elsa said with a chuckle, and Anna launched into a hug. She didn’t cry more, but Elsa heard a few quiet sniffs as she nuzzled into her neck. 

“I’m sorry, I’m confused.  _ Why _ is everyone upset?” Olaf butted in bluntly, and Elsa and Anna both laughed, pulling away. He was slurping at his hot chocolate, giving them an expectant, wide-eyed look. 

“I told the Duke of Weselton that Elsa had a girlfriend.” Anna told him, embarrassed by her mistake.

“O _ kaaay…  _ why is that bad?” He questioned again.

They took their seats again, Anna sitting on Kristoff's lap on the armchair, and Elsa and Maren side by side on the sofa next to Olaf. 

“The Duke doesn’t like women who like other women.” Kristoff explained gruffly, still sore about the Duke’s response. 

“Oooohhh. Okay, so he’s an asshole!” Olaf said, and slurped loudly.

Everyone’s mouths dropped open at the insult, except Maren who snorted with laughter.

“Olaf! Where did you hear that word?!” Anna asked, outraged. They all used bad words, but they had worked on avoiding saying them around Olaf to keep his vocabulary as clean as possible. 

“Sven, why?” Olaf said, pointing in the reindeer's direction, and Elsa and Anna frowned at Kristoff immediately. The man in question sank back in the chair, leaning away from Anna with a guilty chuckle. 

“Did you?” He said in the voice he used for Sven, avoiding his fiancee’s glare. 

“Yeah, you use it all the time! I also learned butt head, pill-”

“O _ kay! _ ” Kristoff said loudly, “that’s enough of that!” 

Sven shook his head at Kristoff, and Anna gave him a backhanded slap on the arm, before crossing her own and looking away. Maren was grinning, biting her lip to stop from laughing, and Elsa raised a hand to rub her face, sighing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really hard chapter to write. I'm not sure why, but I found it very difficult. I re-wrote the whole thing once, which almost killed me. I didn't like making Maren not go after Elsa, nor having Kristoff leave Anna, but they are all so close and trusting of each other that it felt like the right thing to do. 
> 
> Yazie13 - I ate up all the LGBT content I could find as a young teen, but I did it in secret because I thought it was dirty. If i had seen something in a kids film, especially Disney, then I wouldn't have worried so much. I really do hope they eventually make a lesbian disney character.
> 
> Ange - Yeah, Anna's main problem is that she is definitely niave, and an optimist. It wouldn't cross her mind that these awful things would happen. 
> 
> ymirly - It wasn't offensive, don't worry! There have been a couple of people saying similar things about Anna being ignorantly homophobic at the start too. I'm going to explain some of my plot choices in a longer authors note at the end, but for the sake of anyone feeling the same way about her outing Elsa I'll put a short thing below. I hope this helps explain :)
> 
> Anna outing Elsa wasn't chosen as a plot point because it was easy or interesting. In this case, I chose it because I wanted her to face the idea of having to come out to the kingdom, but I knew she wouldn't do that naturally for a long time. Originally I had the idea that Anna would change their laws thinking it would be a great idea to help Elsa, and Elsa would freak out. Then that the Duke or Hans would catch Elsamaren together and the same thing happens. I wanted to put Elsa in a position where she would to assume the worst, and for her, repeating what happened with Anna revealing her powers created the best response.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter is Explicit.

**Chapter 18**

  
  


Maren took on the job as key distraction for the rest of the day. With the argument between Elsa and Anna having broken apart to reveal a torrent of both women's insecurities, they had all come to the conclusion that eventually people would find out anyway. At least if the Duke did say anything they would be able to deal with it sooner rather than later. Anna had been convinced no one would care, but at Maren and Kristoff's gentle reminder of her own ignorance, she had accepted that maybe a more delicate handling of the situation would go down better. Even Elsa was hopeful that the people wouldn’t hate her, even if they didn’t support her fully, and all agreed that Anna was loved far too much to be shunned because of her sisters choices. It had taken a while, but everyone had come up with three solid plans of action.

Plan 1 - The Duke tells people and they aren’t happy - Host a public meeting confirming the news, and Anna puts a firm foot down on any discrimination towards Elsa or anyone else like her. 

Plan 2 - The Duke tells people but they’re okay with it - Everyone continues as normal, but no longer hides the information. Maren shows up to events as Elsa's date and it becomes common knowledge.

Plan 3 - The duke says nothing - They wait a while longer, but eventually people would find out anyway, so Elsa would bring Maren to Anna’s wedding as her date. The occasion would prevent any immediate negativity, and they could deal with it together afterwards. 

There was an anxious calm between them all from there after, and after a while Maren had decided that watching Elsa sit there anxiously was going to get them nowhere. They had come to look at the texts from Northuldra, and that was what they were going to do. 

As Maren sat Elsa down in the library, she could still sense the agitation in her girlfriends frame; the stiff shoulders, subtle ringing of her hands, and occasional clench of her jaw gave it away. There were two texts on the table, and Elsa picked one up wordlessly, staring at the large pages as she unrolled them. Maren sighed as she sat down, happy that Elsa was at least still able to focus on something else. She picked up the other, a book, and stared at it curiously. Elsa’s one was clearly a tale of some sort, she had seen many like that, but the other in her own hand was bound in an odd way. It was heavily damaged, and from the awkward way the pages had been tied together down the side, it looked like it had been made by hand by a child. There was no inscription on the front page, so she flipped it open carefully. Her eyes widened at the messy handwriting, scanning a few lines and realising quickly that this had to be a diary of some sort. It wasn’t customary for Northuldra people to write diaries, but some children were suggested to write down their feelings if they struggled with nightmares or trauma. She wanted to be sure before she told Elsa, but she felt her heart begin to race immediately. Looking up at Elsa, she saw a confused frown on her face, and noticed with joy that the lines of worry had been almost completely replaced. 

“Á… va… Ávva?” Elsa said slowly, sounding out the name written on the bottom of her pages. Maren couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face. She leaned over to look at the words, and nodded encouragingly at Elsa, whose face lit up.

“It’s a text by Ávva Foss. He used to write stories based on myths and legends. I think i’ve read all his texts. Most of them are kept in the village by the eastern fog line.” Maren brushed a finger over the large picture in the middle of the first page, pointing out a character she knew as Gealbu, the strongest. “I wanted to be just like Gealbu. There are quite a few tales of him saving villages from the Moon’s evil influences by completing the hardest tasks to prove the village’s worth. He’s really cool.” 

“Gealbu... “ Elsa raked her eyes over the text with a frown, and pointed at a section where his name was written. “Ge-al-bu…?” 

“That’s right, and over here is his wife Helbme.” She pointed to the woman in the drawing. Elsa found her name too, and Maren was impressed with how quickly she had been able to memorise the symbols. She supposed that learning new things must come naturally to her; it made sense being a princess and all. 

She had a second of panic hit her as she realised that she was dating royalty. Every now and then she would remember who Elsa was to Arendelle, and the fact that she was the fifth spirit in Northuldra, and then the overwhelming feeling of not being worthy would hit her. It wasn’t something she openly admitted to because Elsa still relied on her mental strength a lot, but ever since the fog lifted she had found herself struggling with the realisation that Northuldra played such a small part in the world. Even just Arendelle was daunting to her, and the concept that her girlfriend had been the queen of all of it when they met terrified her. What could she offer her in the long run? Her entire life revolved around the land she lived in, and most of her skills were irrelevant in Arendelle’s modern kingdom. 

“Maren?” Elsa asked, and she realised that Elsa had asked her something.

“Uh, sorry I was thinking.” Maren swallowed, and tried to push her doubts aside. 

“What’s in yours?” Elsa nodded to her book, and Maren thought carefully about how to word her response.

“I- think it’s a journal.” She caught Elsa's eyes widening at the suggestion, and opened the pages to the middle. “It’s written like one for sure. I don’t know if it’s your mother’s or if it was just something she picked up, but… `they keep telling me off for running around by the water, but the spirits wouldn't let me fall in so I don’t know why they worry so much. They’re no fun.`” Maren read the words slowly, and heard Elsa breath in sharply next to her. Elsa’s hand reached out to pull the journal into her hands, running her fingers over the text. 

“I- I can’t tell if it’s her handwriting.” Elsa said softly, with a frown on her face. “Can you translate it for me? Or… maybe we could do it together? I’d like to read this...” Her expression was so soft, and Maren felt her chest throb for the woman. She obviously loved her mother so much. 

“Of course.” 

The Duke seemed all but forgotten about for the next hour, as Maren read through the first few pages of the journal with Elsa. They drew up a chart together, mapping out which symbols in Northuldra went with what in Arendelle’s alphabet, and Elsa worked through a sentence at a time, slowly re-writing the script in her own text. The words told simple stories of day to day life, mostly of the child being frustrated at always being told off for things. Occasionally they would read of a dream, or a nightmare, and it seemed Maren’s initial idea had been correct. They commented on the stories every now and then, and Elsa made a particular comment that made Maren laugh.

“If this  _ is _ Mothers, then she was definitely more like Anna as a child.” It was true, the child's attitude sounded a lot like Anna.

The light had all but faded by the time they stopped. The slight smile on Elsa's face had stayed after the reveal of the journal, and the mood had stayed light… for Elsa at least. Maren had found the book that Elsa had shown her on her first visit to their library, and had managed to translate a page or two, but she was still mulling over her anxieties from earlier. She knew Elsa had chosen to stay in Northuldra off of her own back, but surely when her connection to Atohallan had grown as strong as it could she would get bored and want to travel away. If she were to end up leading the Northuldra people, she would have ties to stay there, and she couldn’t hold Elsa back. Even if she wasn’t leading them… would Elsa want her to follow? She knew she would give up anything to chase after Elsa if she asked, but that didn’t mean the woman would want that. She had no skills to give, no riches, no sway in politics. If the stories from around the world were anything to go by, royalty didn’t settle for someone like her. 

_ Anna chose kristoff? He’s not exactly royal material…?  _ She thought, trying to settle herself. She worried the pencil in her fingers against her lip, and saw Elsa giving her a funny look. 

“What?” she asked, keeping her lips on the end of the pencil. She saw Elsa swallow and look down again with a subtle cough. 

“Nothing, nothing.” She said, clearly trying to make out that she was reading again, but the slow tap of her fingers on the page suggested she was more than a little distracted. Curious, Maren looked down enough so Elsa would think she was busy, but with her gaze high enough to see what Elsa was doing. Then she slipped the pencil between her lips, pushing her shoulders back the slightest amount to give her a better form. After a second, she noticed Elsa give her a side-wards look and bite her lip, and instantly Maren's suspicions were confirmed. 

She felt a smile tug at her lips, tightening them around the pencil.  _ Looks like I don’t have anything to worry about for the time being... _ she thought. She took a breath, telling herself that no matter what happened, she would enjoy every moment she could with Elsa. Standing up, she headed back over to the shelf she had gotten her book from and slipped it back into place, turning to look at her girlfriend. They had lit a candle for extra light around an hour ago, and in the library where there were only a few windows letting in the fading light, it served as the main source of light. Stray wisps of Elsa's white hair were burning orange, and although the air had a chill to it, the atmosphere suddenly felt hot. She had thought that after the events of the day, they wouldn’t want to engage in any kind of suggestive behaviour, but if she was good at reading Elsa, and she was, then it was clear that her mind had wandered to that place. 

Letting her slow footsteps land just loud enough for Elsa to hear, she sauntered over to her. Placing one hand on the back of her chair, she used the other to sweep Elsa’s hair to the side. She took note of her deep breath, seeing that it was out of her usual rhythm, and placed a soft kiss to her neck. Elsa gasped in surprise, but automatically moved her head to the side to give Maren more room. Her pale hands gripped onto the edge of the wooden table as Maren breathed hotly onto the skin, and she smirked as a small ring of frost crept out from under her hands. Silence filled the air as her lips slid over her skin once more, higher this time, and she felt her own heartbeat pick up. She kept a close eye on Elsa’s breathing, waiting for any sign that she was still too anxious to continue, but all she earned was a breathy moan as her lips glided over her ear. 

Last time she had taken things slowly, carefully, aware that it was what Elsa needed, but her desires to throw caution to the wind and pin Elsa down until she screamed were hard to ignore. She felt her own arousal begin to form, and let herself give in to it, knowing that she had enough control to reign it in if she needed to later. Elsa squeaked when Maren pulled the chair back, turning it just enough for her to move in and kiss her. She manoeuvred herself so she was straddling Elsa's thighs, and kissed her again, lightly, pulling away when Elsa tried to put more force into it. 

“Maren…” Elsa whispered, the confusion clear in the soft frown playing on her face. Hands lifted to grip her waist, but she caught them, and pinned them to the chair under her. 

“Not yet.” She said seductively, and paid attention to the hitch in Elsa's breath, and the sudden dilation in her eyes.  _ That’s good. _ Part of her was still aware of the bad timing, but all the signs were pointing in the right direction. 

Raising her own hands to cup Elsa's face, she kissed her again, just as softly. Elsa moaned almost immediately, and Maren smiled. She allowed the kiss to deepen, sliding her tongue over Elsa's lip, and meeting hers sensually. She rocked her hips forward once, moaning purposefully into Elsa's mouth, and she felt Elsa's chest start to heave. Slipping her mouth to the side she kissed back down to her neck, pulling on her hair to move her head. Elsa didn’t fight it, but when Maren bit lightly and sucked, her hands came flying up to grip at Maren's waist.

“Ah!” She pressed into Marens body, which only pushed her neck further into her. Maren breathed through her nose, giving Elsa's neck one last hard suck before pulling away, admiring the way the red-purple bruise stood out against the pale of her skin. She had placed the hickey high enough, and far enough back that it could be hidden if her hair was down, but dark enough that it would be more than clear what it was if someone did see it. There was a moment of doubt as to whether or not she should have left a mark at all, but she desperately wanted to leave a lasting impression on her. She moved her head back, letting go of Elsa's hair, and felt hot lips crash against hers instantly, nails digging into her side. She pulled away again, and Elsa groaned, chasing her with her lips, eyes unfocused. 

“Elsa?” She asked, pushing her back against the chair with one hand, unable to help the smirk on her lips. Elsa’s eyes were trained on her lips, and she raised her eyebrows, not moving until Elsa looked up. “Do you want to continue?” She asked, letting her voice come out as a husky purr, but with enough seriousness that it was clear she wanted a voiced consent. Considering all that had happened over the day, she didn’t want to take advantage of Elsa if she was still in an anxious frame of mind. 

Elsa bit her lip and shivered, nodding once. Maren knew that it was a yes, but after she had had such a visceral response to the question, she decided to up her game. She pushed Elsa's hair back, humming, and licked her lips. Slowly, she drew a line down her face with a finger, bringing it to her jaw, and lifting her chin up forcefully, leaning in close. 

“Use your words Snowflake.” She said, and she was pretty sure Elsa's breathing stopped. 

“Yes. I- I want to continue.” The candlelight flickered across her face, and Maren smiled, standing. 

“Let’s take this to the bedroom.” She said with a wink.

***

The door crashed open, and the second it was shut Maren pinned Elsa to the door, hands on her hips. They kissed passionately, and Maren felt her body heat up, knowing that there were no if’s and but’s this time… no reason to stop. She knew she could, she always would if Elsa asked, but she wanted to keep going more than anything else in the world at the moment. Elsa's hands were in her hair, pulling her closer, and she slipped her knee between Elsa's thighs to allow them to press together firmly. Elsa did a half gasp, half sob at the contact, and wrapped her arms around Maren’s neck. She couldn’t help herself from kissing as much of Elsa's exposed skin as she could reach, making sure to linger each time so that the cold air brushed against each spot afterwards, leaving her sensitive. She rolled her hips into Elsa's, her thigh rubbing between her legs, and Elsa threw her head back, thrusting her hips forward to meet the contact. Maren dipped down slightly, gripping the back of Elsa's thighs and pressing her knee bracingly under her before lifting her off the floor. There was a sharp inhale of shock, and Maren shifted her arms quickly, pushing Elsa up so her legs were wrapped tightly around her waist. Her frame was slim, but lifting a person was still hard, so she pinned her against the wall firmly, keeping her knee in place for added security. Once she was sure she had Elsa supported she looked up into her wide eyes.

“Wow. You’re uh… strong.” She swallowed, and there was a red flush crawling up her neck. It was cute, and Maren laughed.

“Thank you.” She huffed out, and when Elsa went to speak again she moved forwards to capture her lips instead. Their lips moved together with a fire that Maren had never experienced before. It made her head spin, and she was growing addicted to it. Elsa's hips started to move of their own accord, pressing her sex against Maren's hip. She moaned when she felt the movement, and Elsa in turn panted, her hands grasping needily at her back and neck. 

“Hold on.” She husked, and Elsa looked at her for a moment, not sure what she meant. When she moved her away from the wall Elsa suddenly tightened her hold with a squeak, and Maren chuckled. She walked them to the bed, and carefully placed her knee on the edge so that when she leaned down to place Elsa on the sheets she was close to the middle, with her head already on the pillows. 

“You okay?” She asked as she crawled into position with Elsa's legs still wrapped around her waist. 

“Mmhmm” Elsa pulled her down, kissing her again. She was sure her lips were swollen, but she didn’t care, pushing back with a moan. She bit Elsa's lip lightly, and rolled her hips forward, earning a gasp. Eventually she pulled away fully, pulling her tunic over her head. 

“Clothes. Off.” She said hastily, feeling her need overcoming her logical brain. Elsa complied, sitting up and pulling the dress of a quickly as possible. Maren stepped off the bed to untie her trousers, letting them fall to the floor. She turned, leaving her underwear on, and took in the sight of Elsa, naked on the bed, lip pulled between her teeth.  _ Fuck. _ She breathed slowly, and the words slipped out before she could think twice, “Good Girl.” 

The woman in question turned beet red, but a small whimper slipped out, and Maren knew it was the right thing to say. She crawled back onto the bed, parting her knees to lay in between them, her own arousal growing with the ever increasing speed of Elsa's breathing. Placing a soft kiss on her red lips, she smiled. Even in the heat of the moment she couldn’t deny how incredibly beautiful Elsa looked. 

Resting her weight on her forearms, she pulled her lips away from Elsa's, trailing them down her neck. She let her tongue slide over the hickey she had left, and then continued on her path down. When she got to her breasts she felt Elsa's breath catch, and when her lips wrapped around her nipple, letting her tongue swirl around it once, she heard the choked breath, and felt hips buck up against her. Part of her wanted to tease her further, but the temperature of the room had dropped enough to give her goosebumps, which told her Elsa was more than ready.

Her lips trailed down, and she couldn’t help herself from teasing one last time, biting at the soft section of skin above Elsa's hip gently, sucking it into her mouth just enough to make her gasp and thrust her hips upwards. 

“Maren!” Elsa said, and Maren grinned when she looked up, seeing that Elsa had tossed an arm over her face, and her bottom lip was being sucked hard into her mouth. She shifted further down, wrapping her arms under Elsa's legs, and told herself to pay attention for one more moment. It was hard when her own body was rippling with need, and she had to take a deep breath before lowering her mouth down to Elsa's wetness, keeping an eye on her reaction as she kissed it. Elsa's hips tried to buck, but Maren kept them mostly pinned down, and the ex-queen choked back a sob. There was a small shot of ice onto the pillow, and Maren was surprised at how close Elsa must already be. Her stomach swan with arousal, and this time she didn’t fight against it, moaning and rubbing her thighs together. 

“Elsa.” She said, and her voice held a command that Elsa obeyed instantly. “Headboard.” She nodded at the headboard and Elsa swallowed, reaching up to grab it with both hands. 

As soon as Maren was sure Elsa was ready, she lowered back down, kissing the area once more before running her tongue through the heat. 

“Ah!” Elsa released the headboard with one hand, placing it on Maren's head and gripping her hair hard. Maren moaned into her, pressing her tongue against Elsa's clit and swirling over it. She released her hold on Elsa's thighs, pushing them further apart. The pale woman took the moment of freedom to thrust her hips up against Maren's face, and she noticed the ice creeping out over the headboard. Elsa seemed to realise that too, and her hand released her hair to grip the wood again.

Maren slipped her hand between them, needing to be inside of her, and moved her face away for a second to coat her fingers in the wetness between Elsa's legs. She slid one in slowly first, and then another, curling them and watching as Elsa's mouth dropped open silently, her hips lifting off the bed. She slid them out and back in a couple of times, before returning her mouth to Elsa's clit, feeling her own eyes flutter shut. There was a load gasp, and the hand returned to her head. It pulled away just as fast, and Maren felt her body throb at Elsa's obvious lack of control. 

“Maren!” Elsa called out to her, and her voice carried across on a sob that made Maren’s entire body shiver in desperation. 

She curled her fingers with more purpose, sliding them in and out a little to add to the sensation. Elsa's breathing grew steady faster, and her body seemed to arc with every other flick of Maren’s tongue.

“Ma- I-” Her hand flew down to her head again and Maren grew concerned for a second, opening her eyes. The headboard was covered in ice, and Elsa's face was entirely flushed. 

“AH!” She didn’t have a moment to react before Elsa pulled her mouth harder against her and flung her head back, hips lifting up sharply twice as she came hard. 

Like before, a pulse of magic shot out from her, and the room filled with tiny fractals of ice. It was just as beautiful as the first time, and she sighed into Elsa's heat, continuing her motions as let Elsa ride it out, until she felt her tense up. She gave her clit one last suck, and kissed the area, then moved up her body to hover over her, quickly wiping her mouth. They caught eyes, and Maren saw the tears swimming over the blue, proof that her orgasm must have just been intense. 

“Are you okay?” Elsa asked quickly, bringing her hand up to stroke the back of Maren’s head. 

“Yeah…” She leaned in to kiss Elsa, and felt her recoil at the taste. Laughing she pulled away, and Elsa smiled sheepishly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! You guys had a great response to the last chapter, which was awesome. This chapter is kind of a two parter, so here's the first bit... i'm sure you can all tell what happens in the second part.
> 
> Cuddleclose - I've seen a few people in support of the `Elsa things Maren cheats when Nora flirts` plot line. I love it, but I think if Nora was going to do that she would have by now. I wish I'd thought of it sooner, but I don't know it it would work at this point while still making sense. :O
> 
> ElsaFowl - I've been wanting to go into Anna's issues for a while, but I needed the right event. I'm glad that the story ended up heading in this direction because it let me develop HER a bit more too. I think it makes her whole character in this fic make a bit more sense too. 
> 
> Anna - Kristoff has been the surprise hero of this fic. I wasn't sure if I liked the chapter where I made him confront Elsa at first, and I actually re-wrote the whole thing once. But i'm so glad I did. And you'll get that return favour next chapter ;)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter is Explicit!

**Chapter 19**

  
  


Elsa felt like she was burning up. Every inch of her was flushed and hot, more sensitive than ever before, and her heart was pounding so hard that it was difficult to catch her breath. Her situation was definitely not helped by Maren’s constant kisses to her neck and chest, and the slight pressure of her laying between her legs. It took her a minute or two to stop the shivers rippling their way through her body at every glide of Maren’s skin, but she was starting to calm herself down. 

Honeymaren groaned as she slid her lips back up to Elsa's, and they kissed deeply, lips hot against hers, and Elsa entwined her fingers in her dark hair, not letting her go. Her girlfriend’s long locks were still trying to stay up in her braid, but most of it had been pulled out… probably by her. She could feel Maren’s hips rocking forward as their lips moved, and wanted desperately to touch her. She had taken off the last of her clothes already, and the sight Maren’s naked body was tantalising.

Softly, she ran her hands down between them and across Marens breasts with a sigh, before moving them to graze down her sides. Maren dipped her head against Elsa's neck, huffing breathlessly into it. The reaction made Elsa shiver, and she swallowed thickly, running her fingers up and down once, twice, and then a third time, before sliding them lower to rest on her hips. 

It was at that point that she realised she didn’t have any idea what to do next. Her heart was still beating faster than usual, and it skipped a beat as a wave of nervousness hit her. What if she didn’t do it right? Or what if  _ she  _ enjoyed it too much and her magic slipped out? The thought panicked her and the temperature dropped slightly. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, fighting off the fear and letting her hands slip around to Maren’s back. She trailed a finger up her spine and Maren gasped, arching into her. She felt Maren’s mouth parting against her neck and her own arousal grew once more. She remembered the way Maren had rocked into her leg before, and prompted her to straddle her thigh. She did so gladly, pressing against it. Elsa moaned by accident when she felt the wetness land on her upper thigh, and automatically rocked her hips up to rub against her more firmly.

“Elsa…” Maren whispered after a moan, and Elsa felt her start to move her hips, rocking against her rhythmically. The movement was incredibly sexy, and the slight pressure of Maren’s leg between her own thighs felt good. The pleasure of it brought back her fears suddenly and she went rigid. Maren seemed to notice the change in attitude, pausing her grinding. 

“A-Are you okay?” Maren was breathless, pupils blown with lust, and Elsa wanted nothing more than to fall into the haze again with her, but the temperature was dropping even further as her worries grew. 

“I… I don’t want to hurt you…or do something wrong...” She said, looking between her eyes and trying to convey her feelings. Her brows knitted together and she wondered if it would be possible to do it with her gloves on, just to be sure.  _ That wouldn’t work…  _ she told herself. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you... and if it gets too much we can stop okay?” Maren smiled softly, playing with a strand of her white hair, and Elsa’s heart fluttered. She nodded, and Maren’s smile turned from sweet to sultry in a matter of moments, eliciting the smallest of moans on Elsa’s breath. “Sit up.” She said, and Elsa complied, placing her hands gingerly on Maren’s hips. 

Maren took one of them and brought it to her lips, kissing each fingertip. Elsa's eyes were glued to her own hand as Maren slid it down her body, her pale skin contrasting beautifully with the darker tone, until she paused briefly on her stomach. She moved it lower, turning it around, and Elsa felt like she was in a trance. When the hand was pulled forward and guided between Maren’s legs she stopped breathing, her own arousal pooling underneath her. Her fingers were coated instantly in wetness, and the idea that she was the one to have caused it amazed her.

Honeymaren’s chest was still too, and they both sat there, Maren looking at her lustfully while straddling her thigh, and Elsa staring intensely at her fingers as they ran over the silken heat. Maren released her hold of Elsa's wrist, and slid it over the top of her hand instead. They both gasped when Maren’s middle finger pressed into hers, pushing down gently on her clit. She guided Elsa in a circular motion, and Maren’s other hand came up to grip at Elsa's shoulder. 

“Just like that…” She whispered, and Elsa looked up in awe at the expression on her face. She was biting her lip, cheeks flushed, but her eyes were searching Elsa's for any sign of distress. 

Bravely, Elsa took over the motion, speeding it up slightly, a question in her expression, but when she felt Maren’s hips jerk into the motion she had her answer, and her lips curved in a small smile of satisfaction. A tan hand came up to to thread through her hair, pulling her into a kiss. It was heated, but slow. The circling of her finger almost became second nature, with only a part of her mind counting each rotation, and she melted into the other woman, daring to increase the pressure. 

It didn’t take long before Maren moaned in pleasure, putting her hand on Elsa's again and sliding it further back. Elsa let Maren guide her, leading her fingers to where she wanted to be touched. She felt Maren tuck two of her fingers down, leaving two to stroke her entrance, and she quickly realised what it was she wanted. Her body swam with magic, bouncing excitedly around inside of her, and she fisted the blanket within her line of sight. Her concentration was on Maren, and although she was immensely turned on again, her entire being was pushing towards bringing Maren pleasure; which seemed to be restraining any magic within her. There was no ice forming around her hand, but she kept it there anyway, so she could see if any magic slipped out. 

Maren put pressure on her wrist, easing Elsa's fingers inside of her, mouth parting as she exhaled slowly. Elsa moaned quietly the second she felt the molten heat wrap around her, and choked on her breath. It was like nothing she had felt before, and her head swam. The sensation seemed to take over Maren for a moment, the grip on her shoulder increasing as she shifted her hips. Elsa moved her hand after a moment, pushing further in and separating her fingers a little to get used to the feeling. 

“Els-ah…” Maren dipped her head, and Elsa raised hers, kissing her neck. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but with each kiss and breath against her skin Maren was panting and bucking her hips. The Northuldra led the movements confidently, rocking onto Elsa's hand, pushing it down onto Elsa's thigh so she could push the fingers deeper. The position wasn’t comfortable, but not too painful either, so Elsa let it be. She curiously curled her fingers inside of her girlfriend, like she had felt her do to her before. 

Maren moaned, and Elsa felt a swell of pride. She repeated the motion a few times, curling her fingers each time Maren rocked forward to push her fingers deeper. “You’re doing great…d-don’t stop doing that…”

The praise made her mind hazy, and her thoughts zeroed in on the women before her, unable to concentrate on anything else but giving her what she wanted. A hand slipped from Elsa's shoulder, moving between them, and Maren moaned again as she began to rub at her own clit. The sight was more erotic than she was expecting, and she stared in awe, wishing she could reach down to touch herself too. 

The hips above her increased their speed, and Elsa felt her fingers get wetter as Maren got closer to release. Throwing caution to the wind she wrapped her free arm around her girlfriend, gripping at her behind and squeezing it gently as she followed the movements of Maren’s hips. Maren groaned, and her hand sped up its rubbing.

“T-thats it… Good girl, Elsa…” Maren panted the words out right next to her ear, and Elsa heard herself whimper in response, though at this point she couldn’t say if it was because of the sensation of her breath, or the words themselves. Her body felt heavy... and yet lighter than air. She was drunk on the feeling. Her breathing was coming out in short bursts, and she didn’t understand how giving pleasure could somehow feel just as good as receiving. 

“F-uck.” Maren’s mouth fell open, eyes screwed shut. 

Elsa was aware of nails biting into her shoulder, it didn’t hurt, if anything she wanted more. She tried to keep up the motion of her fingers, but Maren’s rocking had suddenly grown uncontrolled. 

“Ah!” Maren’s sank down roughly on her hand, crying out as she came. Elsa felt her own body react to it, choking back a gasp as she felt Maren grip her inside, the woman not stopping the movement of her hand on her clit. 

“Maren…” She whispered, swallowing harshly. Maren slowed to a stop eventually, breathing hard and she slumped against her. Elsa raised the hand on Maren’s behind to grip around her waist, keeping her steady. After a couple of seconds, Maren lifted herself off of her fingers, and Elsa stared at the wetness covering her hand in shock, not quite comprehending what she had just done, and found herself wondering what it would taste like... 

There was a chuckle as Maren watched her, and then fingers on her chin, raising her face up for a kiss. She sank into her plump lips, still feeling lightheaded and dizzy from the experience. She wanted to speak, to say anything, but no words made their way out. When Maren pulled away she looked between Elsa's eyes, and down to her chest, seeming to study her breathing. 

“Lie down, beautiful.” She did as commanded, and Maren wrapped her up in her arms, the same way she had after Elsa’s first orgasm. “Are you okay?” Elsa was pretty sure _ she _ was supposed to be asking that, but she nodded, feeling herself starting to come down from her high. 

A finger was stroking her shoulder, and she realised it was hurting a little. Frowning, she brought a hand up to touch the area, and Maren bit her lip guiltily.

“I’m sorry, I dug my nails in a bit. It didn’t break skin, but it’ll mark.” Maren said.

“Oh…” Elsa thought about it for a moment. She had always been told off if she so much as had a cut or a scrape on show, because it was seen as unseemly for a queen to not be flawless. But now…? The idea of having Maren’s mark on her made her happy. She suddenly remembered her arousal, but her body felt tired, so she let it fade. 

“I… also left a hickey…” Maren wouldn’t catch her eye, and Elsa sat up, feeling a lot more coherent all of a sudden. 

“How bad?” A small mark sounded nice, but a hickey… Anna wouldn’t let her live it down. 

“Not bad!” Maren raised her hands in surrender at Elsa's frown, and then prodded the bruise gently. It hurt a little, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She sighed.  _ It shouldn’t be obvious there at least… _

She laid back down, and they threw the covers over them. The headboard was returning to its normal state as Elsa came down, and Maren had a blissful smile on her face. 

***

Elsa felt different as she made her way down for breakfast the next morning, with Maren holding her hand and talking excitedly about what they would do together that day. She felt herself laughing, and a warmth filled her chest. Something about knowing that she had finally reached a level of control and self trust where she could have sex with Maren much made her feel… adult. She was already an adult obviously, and had run the kingdom successfully for three years as queen, but finally reaching that point meant something much more important to her. A kind of coming of age.

They pushed open the doors to the dining room, and Anna and Kristoff gave them both a funny look. It was clear they had expected her to still be anxious from the events of the day prior, but as usual Maren was able to defy all expectations, and deliver a happier than ever Elsa. 

“Morning!” Honeymaren greeted them, and they walked over to the table to sit down. 

“Good Morning!” Olaf said, with a smart tone, and Elsa smiled at him. “How are we today?” He asked, the formal tone continuing, but it sounded out of place when they realised he was sat in a booster seat for children. 

“We’re wonderful, Olaf.” She said, and Maren smirked. She nodded at Kristoff and Anna, catching their exchanged glances. “Good morning.” 

“Morning... “ Anna said curiously, squinting at them both. 

“You seem happy?” Kristoff said, and looked between them suspiciously as well.

Elsa wasn’t sure what it was that was tipping them off, as they were often happy in the mornings, but even she had to admit that they were a little more giggly than usual. For someone who grew up hiding her emotions, she was doing a very bad job of it. She turned to Maren, catching her smile, and heard two synchronised gasps… followed by a third from Olaf just to join in. 

“ _ Oh  _ my _ God! _ ” Anna shouted, standing up. Elsa turned to her, shocked by the outburst.

Kristoff laughed, and when Elsa frowned at him, concerned, he coughed, tapping his neck in the same place where Elsa and Maren both knew her hickey was. They had chosen a dress that covered the small nail shaped bruises on her shoulder, but they had hoped the hickey was hidden well enough not to be noticed. Unfortunately with her skin being so pale it stood out rather starkly. 

“You had _ sex _ !” Anna whispered, leaning over the table dramatically. Olaf gasped, but he was smiling in a way that suggested he didn’t understand what was happening. 

“We… I mean… We um…” Elsa felt her face flush hotly, and fidgeted on her chair. Honeymaren kept her mouth shut, looking to Elsa for guidance, obviously not wanting to confirm if Elsa wasn’t comfortable with it. 

“Don’t deny it, you’re  _ glowing _ !” Anna said excitedly. Elsa wasn’t sure if she meant she was glowing with happiness, or that her face was glowing, but either way she knew she was right. 

“We did.” She said quietly, not meeting her gaze. Maren held her hand under the table, and Elsa squeezed it. Kristoff laughed heartily, and Elsa saw him smirk at Maren proudly. 

“Oh my  _ god! Elsa! _ ” Anna seemed ecstatic, which only made her blush more furiously. 

Maren chuckled at Anna’s enthusiasm, and Elsa dropped her head into her hands, exceptionally embarrassed. 

“I’m happy for you both.” Kristoff said with genuine smile, but then he stopped, which Elsa was more than grateful for. Anna on the other hand, refused to let it go. 

“How was it? Did you freeze anything? Do you need a medic? Do  _ you _ need a medic?” She looked at Maren wide eyed and Elsa lifted her head, brows raised, not knowing how to end the conversation quickly. Luckily, Kristoff saved her again.

“I don’t think she’s going to tell you the answer to  _ any _ of those questions over breakfast…” He said with a chuckle, and the doors opened to reveal the staff with their food. Olaf bounced excitedly, and Elsa sighed.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as the food was served to them, and she used the time to work on settling herself so the blush on her cheeks would fade. They all waited until the servants had left before starting up conversation again. 

“Soooo….” Honeymaren started, and her voice had a smugness that made one of Elsa's brows raised curiously. Everyone looked at her and she seemed to bite back a laugh. “ _ You _ had sex?” 

Elsa blinked. She looked at her sister and watched as both her and Kristoff started to get flustered. Anna went red, her body betraying her the same way Elsa's always did. She turned to Maren, who tapped on her collarbone and pointed to Kristoff. Suddenly, Elsa noticed the slight bruise poking out from his shirt, which he hastened to close further. Maren laughed, and Elsa found herself grinning. 

They all decided to let the matter slide, but Anna gave her sister a clear ` _ we will be discussing this _ ` glare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honeymaren finally got her turn. 
> 
> I'm not doing personal replies to this because most of you are just screaming thirsty things and that is totally okay with me hahaha   
> People on Twitter have been fantastic, as have the people who have messaged me on tumblr. You're all the greatest. ALSO, this is weird but I did an Elsamaren art piece and it got re-posted which actually makes me kind of happy because it means people liked it haha 
> 
> Thank you for an amazing Christmas and New Year. <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Elsa had been right about one thing, rumours did spread. After spending the morning translating more of the journal, they had decided to go into town before Elsa and Honeymaren returned to Northuldra. Kristoff had spoken to a few guards before they set off, who had explained how the Duke had been shouting rather loudly about the ex-queens scandalous relationship on his way back to the boats. It sounded like he hadn’t explicitly stated that she was dating Maren, but the only person who was close enough to Elsa to be a possible partner was her, so they knew it wouldn’t take long for people to figure it out. Filip had requested in a hushed voice to Anna that he accompany them as a bodyguard of shorts, having heard the argument with the Duke through the doors. It was a kind gesture, and Elsa made sure to give him a thankful smile, but they all agreed that it would only add to people's suspicion, and decided against it.

They first noticed a problem when they were barely outside of the gates. A man had stared at Maren with an intensity that had clearly set her on edge, looking between her and Elsa slowly. Elsa had wanted more than anything to reach out and grip Maren’s hand for support, but she knew she couldn’t without confirming the truth, so she clenched her fists at her side and glared at the floor. Olaf sat on Sven’s back for the journey, and Maren reached out to stroke the reindeer’s fur. It frustrated Elsa that she had to rely on Sven for comfort instead of her, but she knew he would probably do a better job at relaxing her than she could considering her own insecurities. 

The next hint that something was wrong came when they finally reached the heart of the town, and the chatter that typically fluttered through the air during peak trading times lowered, a gentle hush falling over the area briefly. Elsa felt a cold sweat pass over her at the attention, and immediately focussed on her breathing, keeping her magic calm. She had been expecting something like this to happen, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. The Duke was hated by a lot of people for his… eccentric ways, so she had thought that even if he had planted a seed in their heads, it would still take them a little while to actually believe him. It had been a little under one day since he had left, so she wasn’t even sure  _ how _ so many people could know.

_ Maybe they were already suspicious. _ She thought, thinking over her history of romantic rejections, and how she had abdicated the throne to live in a forest, returning almost always with Maren in tow. It certainly wasn’t normal behaviour for a member of the royal family; or a member of any family for that matter. That idea made her more nervous. The thought that the people might have been whispering about her while she was away in Northuldra was daunting. 

“Do you want to go back?” Anna asked, leaning in close to whisper into Elsa's ear. She was suddenly hyper focused on her tight posture and the gentle grinding of her teeth; she must have been noticeably uncomfortable.

“No… I can’t hide away from it.” She said, putting on a fake smile, but the frown glued on her face made it unbelievable. Anna reached down to squeeze her hand, not letting it go, and Elsa felt a small amount of comfort from the gesture. Maren and Kristoff were chatting happily behind them, but there was a subtle tension present in both of their shoulders, and Maren was relentlessly fiddling with the feathers around her thick tunic. 

“Do you think they believe the rumors or…?” Anna asked, again keeping her voice low. 

“I'm not sure, but it seems like they’re curious...” Elsa looked around, noticing several people look away when they realised they had gotten caught staring. Even after three years as queen she still wasn’t entirely comfortable in the public eye, and feeling like eyes were on her from every direction made her nauseous. 

They visited a few stalls, Anna and Kristoff making sure to act normal and compliment their citizens on good products, but Elsa stayed a little behind them. She was careful about her closeness to Maren, but was also aware that suddenly putting distance between them would make it seem more obvious. A gentle pounding began in her head at the stress of it all, and she sighed. Looking over to Maren, she smiled at the sight of her girlfriend; the wind had picked up, and was blowing her fringe around. Something about the frown on Maren’s face as she looked up at the unruly strands of hair made her weak, and Elsa had to pin her hands to her sides to prevent herself reaching up to play with the dark strands of hair herself. Maren caught her gaze and gave her a lopsided grin, eyebrows still stitched together in frustration. Elsa couldn’t help herself from laughing, the light chuckle slipping free before she knew it. A few people turned to look at her, surprised that she had laughed so casually in public, and she raised a hand to cover her mouth quickly, feeling her body heat up and her heart quicken. 

People swiftly looked away, and Maren made to walk past her, but the Northuldran woman leaned in to whisper in her ear quickly instead. 

“That was  _ adorable _ .” She spoke quietly, and the words came out lower than usual, making Elsa shiver. Maren’s breath was hot on her ear, and although the movement would look normal to anyone who was watching, it felt incredibly erotic. She stood still for a few seconds, eyes locked on the floor, as her body settled down from its reaction. When she looked up Maren was gone, already laughing at something Kristoff was telling her. Eyes were on her again, and she made a mental note to chastise her girlfriend later for making her flustered in public, though something about it was oddly arousing. She walked over to them, and Anna raised a questioning eyebrow at the light flush on her cheeks. 

“But I  _ want _ one Kristoff!” Kristoff said using his Sven voice, and Maren continued to chuckle away. 

“I can’t tell if you or Ryder are worse at the reindeer voice…” She said between chuckles, throwing a carrot at Sven. Kristoff’s mouth dropped open, and he looked between Sven and Maren, offended. 

“What do you mean,  _ worse _ ? We’re both  _ amazing _ at reindeer speak. Right, Sven?” He said, taking the bag of carrots away from Maren, and sharing one with Sven.

“You’re the  _ best _ Kristoff!” He said as Sven, speaking through a mouthful, and Anna groaned next to Elsa. 

“I do wish he wouldn’t do that in public… I think the Northuldra bring out the worst in him honestly.” Anna cringed, as Maren egged him on further, Olaf quickly joining in. They spoke loudly, and Elsa was grateful that the volume of the crowd had grown a little so they didn’t draw even more attention to themselves. 

“Hello!” A high pitched voice spoke from next to Maren, and the group turned. Next to them was a small child, no older than eight, with messy blonde hair and a dirty dress. Elsa immediately thought of Anna as a child, always getting messy the second she was left alone, and she smiled softly at the child. There was an ear splitting grin on her face, and Elsa could tell she was boisterous already. She wondered where her parents were. Maren and Kristoff quickly composed themselves, and Sven swallowed his mouthful of carrots.

“Are you Honeymaren?” She asked the Northuldra, and the people around them seemed to still, looking in their direction. Elsa felt a cold sweat pass over her,  _ Oh no… _

“I am, yes.” Maren smiled at the girl, dropping down into a crouch so she was shorter than the girl. “What’s your name?” 

Elsa was very glad that Maren was a natural with children. Though she knew Maren well enough to hear the subtleties of her nervousness in her voice, she was able to throw on a fun, caring persona around any child, no matter what situation they were in.

“My name’s Ash!” She said, and she suddenly seemed to realise that Elsa and the others were there too. She bowed dramatically and coughed, putting on as best of a formal tone as she could. “Hello your highnesseses!”

Anna `awwed` and even Elsa had to admit it was sweet. She looked at Kristoff, noticing the dopey smile on his face as he walked over to hold Anna’s hand, and she realised how right Maren had been about needing to get in some baby practice. It was clear that they would be wanting a family soon. 

“Well hello there Ash, how can I help you?” Honeymaren asked, and the child relaxed immediately, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement.

“Are you going to be the new princess?” She asked, and her eyes were shining with excitement. 

Elsa balked, and she heard Anna take a deep breath, but Maren didn’t seem to understand. 

“The new princess? Why would I be the new princess?” She queried the girl innocently, and Elsa wished she could drag her away, tell the people around them to stop looking, find this girl’s parents…  _ anything  _ to stop the conversation in its tracks.

“Well ff a man proposed to Queen Elsa he would be a Prince so if  _ you _ propose to her you would be a princess right?” The child frowned a little in confusion. 

Ash obviously hadn’t grasped that Elsa was no longer queen anymore, but that was the least of Elsa's worries. The quiet grew completely silent as the words of the girl landed on all of them, and Elsa had the immediate thought to run away. She didn’t dare to look up at the citizens around them, terrified of what she might see, so she kept her gaze glued to the girl, not breathing. There was a trembling to her magic, and she prepared herself, making sure she was ready to control herself if this went badly. Kristoff tensed, and she could see him give her a worried look out of the corner of her eye. She felt better knowing he was prepared too.

“I-” Maren said, and she seemed to be at a loss for words. She stared blankly at the girl. 

“ _ Ash! What _ are you doing?!” A woman who looked very similar to the young girl ran up to them, and stopped dead when she saw the crowd gathered around what looked like her daughter and the royal siblings. “Your majestys.” She said with a nervous tremor to her voice, curtseying politely to Elsa and Anna.

“Are you Ash’s mother?” Anna asked quickly, stepping forward and releasing Kristoff’s hand. 

“Yes I- I apologise if she did anything naughty! She gets excited…” She looked at her daughter with terror in her eyes, and Elsa realised that she must have thought her daughter had offended them in some way. 

“I was just asking Honeymaren a question Mum!” Ash said, rolling her eyes. 

“Your daughter did nothing wrong, don’t worry Ms…” Anna said politely, smiling at Ash and then looking back at her mother. 

“Mrs Wien.” She said, and sighed thankfully at hearing her daughter wasn’t in trouble. “As long as you’re sure.”

“I  _ just _ wanted to know if Honeymaren is going to become a princess!” Ash whined, still wanting an answer to her question. Her mother’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. 

“ _ Ash!” _ She said in a hushed tone, her voice laced with an angry panic. “I’m so sorry your highness!” The woman looked at Elsa directly, confirming with certainty that she knew they were dating. 

Anna looked quickly at Elsa too, signalling her to step in with her eyes. Elsa knew what she was suggesting, but her body was rooted to the spot, paralised in fear.  _ She wants me to confirm it… It was part of the plan… don’t hide the information if people seem to already know. _ Casting a glance around, she tried to figure out if people seemed disgusted by the idea, but when she met the eyes of Arendelles citizens she felt her throat close up, and her vision swam a little. She swallowed anxiously, and felt her hands begin to ice over. Tears began to well up in her eyes as the fear of rejection crashed over her like an icy wave. Her ears were ringing slightly, and she couldn’t remember if she had breathed in the past minute. The reindeer inside her was backed into a corner, whimpering, and she couldn’t calm it down. 

Honeymaren looked back and caught her eye, seeing the sheer panic in them the Northuldra gave her a small smile, and took a slow breath, turning back to Ash with a quiet sigh. Elsa didn’t know what she was going to do, but there was a conviction in her expression that made her nervous.

“I’m not sure how the customs here work in regards to marriage I'm afraid. You’ll just have to wait until I propose to find out, won’t you?” Honeymaren said sweetly, the words tipping casually from her tongue, but Elsa heard the strain on her voice. 

Elsa inhaled sharply at the words. There were a few drops of snow forming in the air, which she knew people were noticing, but she forced herself to ignore it and breathe, putting all of her faith in Maren’s ability to win them over. 

“Are you going to do it soon? You would look pretty in one of the fancy princess dresses!” Ash said, and she seemed to be vibrating with excitement. Everyone was still around them, even Olaf seeming to realise the importance of the interaction, and for a moment it seemed that the only two people moving in the still frame were Ash and Honeymaren. 

Honeymaren laughed tightly, and grinned at the girl.

“Well I can’t ask for her hand without the permission of her people can I? That would just be rude! So… what do you say, Ash?” The tension in her voice was audible, despite the laugh that accompanied it. 

“You have my permission!” Ash practically shouted, throwing a hand in the air sweetly. 

“Well that’s a start isn’t it! What about your mother? You think she would mind?” Honeymaren prompted her, and suddenly all eyes were on Mrs Wien, who looked sheepish.

“If her highness approves of you then I don’t see why I wouldn’t…” She said slowly, red faced from the sudden attention. Maren nodded at her, and then looked into the crowd.

“Dustin?” Maren picked out Dustin the photographer, knowing he had seemed suspicious of them during their shoot. He smiled, his dark eyes gleaming with joy. 

“As long as I get to take a photo on the big day.” He said, and his gaze moved to Elsa, nodding in support. 

Elsa felt herself starting to come back down to earth physically, her magic settling and her breathing finding a rhythm, but everything still felt surreal. People were smiling at her. She looked around, taking in the seeming lack of judgement.  _ They… don’t hate me…?  _

A dark skinned woman stepped forwards with her teenage son and husband, smiling at Honeymaren first, and then looking to Elsa.

“We think it’s about time you found a good husb-uhh… partner.” She seemed nervous speaking out, but when Kristoff offered them a huge grin she relaxed, giving a quick courtesy and stepping back. 

“Elsa?” An older woman stepped forward, and Elsa immediately recognised her as Kamila, Rea’s mother, and a previous servant for the royal household. She hobbled over to Elsa, years of hard work having made her sore. Elsa had grown up with Kamila working in the house, and with Rea being closer to her than most other people during her adolescent years, she had a much more personal connection with her. 

“Kamila?” She asked, breaking out of her frozen state to go and help her. She steadied her with a hand on her arm, and the woman smiled warmly. 

“Elsa darling, I hope you don’t mind if I speak out of turn, but considering the situation I feel its appropriate?” Kamila’s voice was kind, and Elsa instantly thought of her mother, remembering how she had like the woman. 

“Of course, go ahead.” She said, wanting to hear she had to say. The fact that they were in public did make her nervous, but she didn’t think she could get any  _ more _ worried, so she decided to let her speak.

“I’m so proud of you, Elsa. You were always so quiet and scared as a child, it was terrible to watch really. Even after your powers were revealed you seemed hesitant to get close to people. Seeing you the past few months… you’ve been so happy every time you come to visit, and I can only assume it’s due to this lovely lady here.” She looked at Maren with a smile, and Elsa followed her gaze, seeing that she was now standing, Ash having gone to her mother, and watching her with a loving expression. 

“I can see you are still scared to let your feelings show, but you deserve to find love. There will be a few who will stand against you I’m sure, but as you can see, most people here will support you all the way through. If she makes you  _ happy _ Elsa… then don’t conceal it.” 

There were a few murmured agreements, and Elsa felt the tears still in her eyes spill over, a fragile smile forming. She squeezed at Kamila’s arm, overwhelmed. 

“Your mother would be so proud of you. And I’m sure Rea and her girlfriend would love to come to the wedding.” Kamila winked, and Elsa felt her heart skip a beat. 

_ Rea likes women too? _ She couldn’t help herself from chuckling quietly as the realisation sunk in. Maybe Kristoff was right about the whole thing after all... They had lived a very sheltered life inside the castle, with little to no access to the general public. Three years of integrating into their life wasn’t enough to replace the years they had missed, and there were obviously changes to the views of the people that they hadn’t been around to see. She wondered briefly how many other people in Arendelle were like her, and the idea that maybe she wasn’t so alone made her heart flutter. 

“Thank you... “ She said, giving Kamila a meaningful smile. Taking a deep breath, she felt the weight of her fear and shame falling away from her shoulders, leaving her free. Her chest felt tight, but not in a bad way for once, and she let a few tears fall. She turned around to look at her family and Anna crashed into her suddenly, hugging her tightly, tears flooding down her face. It was very un-queenly, but Elsa couldn’t bring herself to tell her off. Kristoff joined them, wrapping his arms around them both, and the girls laughed. After a moment she took a step away, immediately seeking out the loving eyes of Maren. She was stood next to Sven and Olaf, looking shyly at her while her fingers played with her feathers again. Elsa noticed that a lot of people were looking her girlfriend up and down, whispering to each other in a curious way.

Elsa took a deep breath, gleefully noting that her magic was completely under control despite her fluttering heart and hammering chest. She walked slowly over to Maren, letting her hips sway a little as she tried to act confident. Stopping in front of her, she realised that Maren wasn’t breathing, and a few odd strands of hair were fluttering in the breeze. It reminded her of the first time they had almost kissed, and her heart swelled. As before, Maren offered her her hand, hazel eyes burning with emotion. Elsa slowly placed her hand in Maren’s, looking deeply into her eyes, and leaned up to kiss her cheek quickly. She didn’t linger, making sure the contact was still appropriate for a public gesture. Anna squealed, and Elsa and Maren turned to look at her curiously. 

“Let’s celebrate!” She said, wiping her face and bouncing over to Kristoff. “We should have a party!” The crowd murmured excitedly and Kristoff gave them a sympathetic look as Anna immediately started on a tirade of party plan suggestions. Elsa groaned at the idea, moving to raise a hand to her face, before remembering it was intertwined with Maren’s. She looked at their hands in awe, feeling her magic swirl inside of her at the gentle caress of Maren’s thumb. 

“So... “ Maren whispered once all the eyes around them had either focused on Anna, or turned respectfully to continue with their day. Her tone was light and joking, taking the edge off when she asked her next question. “About marriage…?” 

“ _ Lets _ not get ahead of ourselves…” Elsa chuckled, but found herself smiling widely at the idea. She could imagine it, marrying Maren, which both terrified and excited her, but she wasn’t going to rush into anything. Maren didn’t seem phased, laughing merrily at her reply. 

“Are two women even  _ allowed _ to get married in Arendelle?” Maren asked.

“No, they aren’t… but I’m sure Anna will be changing the laws pretty soon. She’s going to be a nightmare from now on…” Elsa frowned, wondering just how long Anna would wait before pestering Maren to propose… or Elsa for that matter. But no matter what, she was determined to enjoy every second with her girlfriend that she could, and that involved an impromptu Anna party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the smut killed the fandom. I am not sorry.   
> Ashwini deserved a nod for starting the Discord chat and making so many people happy. Also because I felt bad for being a butt to her.
> 
> SakuraIce22 - I'm really glad the meditation techniques helped! A few people have said similar things, and it makes me happy to know that you are able to follow along. If you guys do have trouble with anxiety meditation can honestly really help, so look into it.
> 
> May-47 - I knew Elsa would have some kind of praise kink... I mean... she's the walking definition of someone with a praise kink. Anything like that would also be new to Elsa so I tried to keep it realistic to someone reacting to a kink they don't know they have for the first time. I'm glad you like it :)
> 
> Safnari - I think the `headboard` and the `good girl` bits killed everyone. I will never be able to live it down...


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It was a strange thing for Elsa, seeing so many Northuldra in Arendelle. There were small groups of them dotted among the hordes of Arendellians who had come out to celebrate, and both sides seemed to be making valiant attempts at intermingling. The leaders of the social interactions seemed to be the children, who were having a fantastic time playing games together, forcing parents of both sides to converse. Elsa saw Ash in the distance, waving her hands wildly in the air as she explained something to two Northuldra children about the same age as her. Elsa smiled at the interaction, and a warm fluttering feeling started in her chest. 

Elsa had managed to persuade Anna to wait a couple of weeks before holding the celebration, so the weather would be a little warmer, and so that they could invite a few of their friends down. That had quickly spiralled however, and Anna had sent an official invitation to all the Northuldra, and just over half of the entire tribe had made arrangements to come down to Arendelle. Elsa had been nervous about how the party would go, but there had been a buzz of excitement around both Northuldra and Arendelle for a week prior to the festivities starting, and it had seemed to have begun relatively smoothly. 

Elsa leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on the low brick wall in front of her, looking out over the scene. She stood in a slightly raised seating area a few steps above the main town square, which gave her a good view over the celebrations. The music was loud enough to be heard from a distance, but not too loud to be uncomfortable, and the laughter of the children and chatter from the adults added to the joyous atmosphere in the town. It was mid afternoon, and the sun was beginning to make its way towards the horizon, but the sky was a clear blue still, yet to be coated by the wash of amber than was soon to come. 

“You look happy.” The voice was light, relaxed, and Elsa knew it instantly. Honeymaren. Her small smile widened as she slipped her arms around her waist from behind and hummed when Elsa leaned back into her embrace. Maren was warm, and soft, and Elsa felt safe and protected in her loving hold. Lips pressed lightly against her cheek, placing a gentle kiss there, and Elsa's heart sped up. It was still surreal to know they could be so open in public, and although she loved it, she was still hyper aware of people being only a few steps away from them. She listened for the briefest moment for any sign of an issue, but there was none, so she let her shoulders relax even further.

“I am.” It was a simple reply, but it was all she needed to say. She felt Maren nod, looking out with her over the crowd of people. Elsa was sure it was just as odd for Maren to see her people in Arendelle, but judging by the smile she could feel pulling widely at Marens lips as their cheeks pressed together, she was enjoying it. 

“I never thought I’d see this.” Maren said, and Elsa straightened up, covering Maren’s arms around her waist with her own, and turning her face slightly to look at her girlfriend. She didn’t speak, waiting for Maren to continue. “When I first saw the sky properly,” Maren looked up as she spoke, and Elsa watched as her eyes lit up in amazement the same way they had the first time, “I was… speechless. I mean, it’s so beautiful, what can you say to describe it…? I felt the same when I saw you on Nokk for the first time. You were… ethereal. Nothing I could say would ever be able to get across how incredible you looked, or how I _felt._ But this…” She looked down at the crowd again, and Elsa followed her gaze. “This is the opposite. There’s so _much_ to say. I doubt I could even get it right if I tried.” 

Maren chuckled, and Elsa could see the delicate sheen in her eyes that expressed the intensity of her emotions. Though it was definitely a different situation, Elsa knew how Maren felt; the first time she had been able to go out of the castle without fear, and experience her own kingdom properly, she had been overwhelmed with emotions. She turned in Maren’s arms, pulling her into a gentle kiss. Her heart beat faster again, reminding her of their position, but she ignored the warning and let the comfort of her lips soothe Maren. 

“Get a room!” The words carried to them loudly, and Maren groaned at her brother's voice, squeezing Elsa's waist closer to her but pulling her face away to scowl at him. 

“Gross!” The joke in Kristoff’s voice made Elsa smile, and Maren sighed at the boys, smirking and leaning against the wall next to them. They were bristling with energy, and Elsa could feel the childish excitement rolling off the both of them in waves. She caught Maren rolling her eyes, and chuckled. 

“Coming from you two. If you didn’t both have girlfriends I’d be convinced _you_ were dating.” Maren said, and Elsa bit her lip against a laugh. Both men gasped in fake shock, standing up straighter. 

“How dare you think that I would be interested in this prime specimen of a man!” Kristoff said, wrapping an arm around Ryder’s waist. 

“Yeah Mare, what were you thinking?” Ryder stroked his hand down Kristoff's face, and down to his chest. 

“Oh for… you two are awful!” Maren pulled her arms away from Elsa's waist, gesturing at their antics dramatically.

Ryder and Kristoff pulled away from each other, laughing hysterically. Elsa knew Maren loved how close they were, as did she and Anna, but they all had agreed that they were a mischievous force when put together. Without a reindeer to keep them distracted they just acted like children.

“Where even _are_ Anna and Heidi?” Maren asked, finally smiling, and took Elsa’s hand. She patted her brothers arm, prompting the two men to walk. 

“Heidi’s with her mother.” Ryder said, scratching his face and leading them towards the throng of people. 

“Anna is with Mattais and Yelena. They wanted to see you so we said we would come get you.” Kristoff said.

They kept up conversation as they walked, their progress slow as they dodged around people, waving and greeting them as they went. They received congratulations from every direction over their relationship, which left Elsa surprised every time, even though it had been made more than clear that they were accepted. Anna had warned her that there had been one or two people who had spoken out against them, but that the people themselves had taken to standing up against their hate. She had thought any hate would make her feel uncomfortable, but the way that the people had stood up for her had actually just made her feel even more secure.

Anna saw them first, waving at them from next to one of Arendelle's fountains. Her bright hair was done up in a beautiful bun, adorned with flowers and topped with her crown. It made her look both regal and natural all at once. She could only imagine how beautiful she would look on her wedding day.

“Elsa!” Anna hugged her, and then rushed to hug Maren too, making Elsa’s lip pull up into a soft smile. Ever since her argument with Anna, Maren and her had gotten along even better than before, and Elsa loved seeing them interacting so casually. 

“My lady,” Mattais bowed, a grin already firmly on his face, and then nodded at Maren, “Honeymaren. You two are so _adorable_ together!” His words were full of excitement, and his eyes glittered as he spoke. 

“Thank you, Mattais.” Elsa said, a sincere smile gracing her lips. 

“Ahh to be young and in love, unable to tear your eyes away from each other!” He swooned at the words, tearing up, and Anna laughed. 

“It’s not just their eyes they cant keep off of each other…” Ryder whispered, and Kristoff giggled. Maren quickly rammed an elbow into her brother’s side, and he groaned. Yelena barked out a laugh, and the siblings looked to her sheepishly. 

“He’s right... “ She said with a smirk, and even Maren looked suitably embarrassed.

“Kristoff said you were looking for us?” Elsa said quickly, feeling her cheeks begin to flush. They had been… enjoying themselves, a fair bit over the past two weeks, and Ryder had let them know on several occasions that they had either been too loud, or had left a mark somewhere on each other. Maren seemed to take pride in marking her, and Elsa had to admit that she enjoyed it too, but the attention they got for it embarrassed her.

“Oh! Yes!” Anna said quickly, bouncing a little. “Yelena, Mattais, and I were just talking about building a better road up to Northuldra so that it doesn’t take as long to get there and back. Oaken met with me a few days ago to discuss the idea of building a shop, slash inn, halfway along so people can meet more often. Plus we can then trade better between the towns by selling good from both sides there.”

Elsa blinked, shocked. It was a commitment to fund something like that, but there _were_ some great outcomes. In fact, she could see how it could pay for itself over time, with increased movement between towns potentially increasing the trade of goods massively. Plus, if she routed it in a particular way it would join up with the road over the mountains at one point, which would help with other trade routes too. 

“That’s a great idea!” She said, proud of her sister, and of Yelena for agreeing to such a deal. 

There was a look of pride on her sisters face, and her eyes looked watery. It was clear she was seeking approval from her, and receiving it was making her emotional. In the past, Anna would probably have cried and hugged her breathless, but her queenly attitude came out instead, and she nodded, smiling widely at Elsa. 

***

The music picked up when the sun began to descend further, covering Arendelle in a wash of vibrant colours. Many were already drunk, and although the rowdy crowd were a little stifling, Elsa had to admit she was enjoying herself. Olaf had been coming and going since the party began, swapping from acting like a child after too much sugar, to discussing the inevitability of time with the elderly. He and Maren were currently looking after Ash and a few other children while their parents grabbed some food, and Elsa observed that the young girl seemed incredibly taken by Maren. Elsa sat next to Sven and Anna, halfheartedly listening to her sister’s chatting while she watched the Northuldra woman effortlessly lift the children, Olaf running up to jump at her heels. They were all laughing, and Elsa felt the chuckle leave her before she realised. She hoped Anna hadn’t noticed, but the soft smile on her face when she looked over to her told her she had. 

Anna was clearly working up to say something, and Elsa braced herself for an unwelcome conversation, but was surprised when the redhead closed her mouth, shaking her head minutely. Whatever she was going to say, she seemed to have decided to wait, and Elsa was glad. She looked back to Maren and felt her chest tighten. This had been a long journey for her, and she wanted to just enjoy it for a while. The idea of her being a mother… that would take more work, maybe _too much_ work. But who knows…

“Elsa?” A voice spoke quietly, uncertainly, from beside her, and she turned. 

Elsa's eyes landed on the tall woman, her dark hair flowing freely over her shoulders. She recognised her straight away, and took in the green of her eyes, shining warmer than Elsa remembered under the early evening sky. Her breathing stopped, and she stood quickly, eyes wide. 

“Rea?” She asked, and she felt Anna stand up beside her, looking between them. 

Rea looked her up and down, and Elsa felt the familiar feeling of heat crawling up her neck. It had been years since Rea had moved out of Arendelle, having left around the same time her parents had passed, but she still made her heart speed up somehow. 

“You look great, Elsa.” Rea said, smiling at her. The confidence in her voice from when they were teenagers was still there, but it was laced with a questioning undertone; Elsa was certainly a different person now, and Rea wasn’t sure what to expect.

“You uh… you too.” Elsa’s voice was higher than normal, and the heat crawled higher, settling on her cheeks. She had responded this way as a teenager, until she had forced herself to ignore the feelings, but now _knowing_ that she had had a crush on Rea was making the whole situation worse. Rea looked deeply into her eyes, and Elsa thought she might have forgotten how to breathe. She didn’t have feelings for Rea anymore, but standing face to face with the first, and only other woman she had ever liked made her feel like a child again. 

“My mother told me you found yourself a girlfriend?” There was the hint of a smirk on Rea’s face, and it only made her blush harder. _Did she know I had a crush on her? I didn’t, so she couldn’t have, right?_

“Y-Yes, Honeymaren. She’s uh… over there.” Elsa gestured to Maren, who was watching the interaction curiously as she supervised Olaf playing with Ash and the others. Rea gave Maren a once over, and then nodded at her, smiling. Maren nodded back politely, but she raised an eyebrow at Elsa, obviously noticing the blush on her cheeks. 

“She’s gorgeous. This is _my_ partner, Erin.” Rea said, and Elsa suddenly realised there was another woman next to her. She was about the same height as Anna and her, with long brown hair tied up in an intricate braid that spiralled on her head. Her skin was tan, and when she spoke to introduce herself Elsa was surprised by her thick accent. 

They swapped niceties, and eventually Erin took her leave to get a drink, Rea turning to leave too. 

“Hey… Elsa?” She asked before she left. “I’m really happy for you. You deserve much better than what you had as a kid. I hope she can give you that.” She leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss on Elsa's cheek, and then pulled away with a wink, following after her girlfriend. 

Elsa stood still, flustered. 

“ _What was that?_ ” Anna practically shouted at her, and Elsa jumped, having forgotten her sister was there. 

“I… don’t know what you mean.” Elsa said, not making eye contact.

“No wonder you asked me about Rea when you were confused about Maren! You didn’t tell me you two were a thing?” Anna was astounded, and Elsa quickly shushed her, not wanted the people around them to get the wrong idea. 

“We were _not_ a thing.” She whispered forcefully. “But… I had a crush on her. I didn’t know until Maren came along that I even liked her. It was weird to see her again now that I know… and with her _also_ having girlfriend too.” She explained, and Anna’s eyes remained wide. 

“Well after _that_ performance I would hazard a guess that _she_ knew you liked her.” Anna said, crossing her arms. Elsa hummed, agreeing. 

“Hey…” Maren walked up to them, and her voice was a little subdued. “Who was that?” There was a nervousness in her voice that worried Elsa. 

“Her name’s Rea. The girl with her is her girlfriend Erin. She used to be a servant in the palace.” Elsa said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. 

“Oh… I see.” Maren found Rea’s figure with her eyes, and her brows knitted together. 

“Hey?” Elsa said, seeing the look on her face. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah… She seems great.” She smiled, but it was so clearly fake that it was almost painful. Anna laughed, and both girls looked at her, confused. 

“I’m going to go find Kristoff. Elsa, explain to Maren why she doesn’t need to be jealous of Rea. Sven, come on let’s go.” She left with Sven, and Olaf ran after them quickly, leaving Elsa stood there wide eyed. She turned to Maren, trying to figure out her expression. It was odd, but it reminded her of the way Anna often looked whenever she was feeling bad about something.

“You’re not actually jealous are you?” Elsa asked, frowning when Maren simply looked away sadly. “Oh… hey, look at me.” Elsa reached up to turn her head and look her in the eyes, the yellowing sky illuminating them for her. She took in the insecurity on Maren’s face and realised suddenly that she wasn’t the only one who needed to work through some problems. 

“What’s on your mind?” She asked. _Your turn Maren... let me in._

“She’s just… Anna said all your servants are quite well educated, and from the looks of _Erin_ she’s well travelled too, and she’s _very_ attractive…” Maren said with a huff. She sounded frustrated, but the frown on her face suggested that she was just self conscious. 

“And you are strong, and smart, and gorgeous, and kind, and I love you.” Elsa said, smiling. This side of Maren was new to her, and it was daunting to have the tables turned. Maren had trusted her enough to leave them alone to talk despite seeing her reaction to Rea, so she knew she didn’t need to be worried about her jealousy, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t felt the same about Norá anyway.

“You love me?” Maren asked breathlessly. 

Elsa felt her magic swirl. She hadn’t realised she had said it, but she knew it was true. Her body went cold for a second as she suddenly felt incredibly nervous, and her heart skipped a beat. 

“I do…” She said slowly, watching as a grin spread over Maren’s face. 

“I love you too.” She said, and swiftly pulled Elsa into a soft kiss. It was quick, mostly due to the laughter that bubbled up out of Maren’s mouth, but it was all they needed. They laced their hands together and sat down on the edge of the fountain. She had turned it into a giant ice sculpture of Nokk, and the clear ice practically glowed in the heavy amber hue around them. Maren looked at the sculpture with amazement for what must have been the fourth or fifth time of the afternoon, and Elsa chuckled softly at her. 

And as if all the ghosts of their past had come to see the happy couple, Elsa saw Norá and Ikká standing not too far away, talking animatedly over a glass of wine. Norá cast a glance over, her cheeks darkening just enough when she waved at Maren that Elsa felt her own irritation spark. Her magic danced at her fingers, and she knew all it would take was a single flick… The glass clouded over with the cold, and she was so distracted by Maren, the poor girl didn’t notice just how chilled her wine had suddenly gone. The shatter of the part frozen wine was almost as satisfying as the splashing sound as it hit the ground, spraying up her skirt just a little… Elsa shook her head, clearing away the wicked thought. It was fun to indulge, and she didn’t think she would ever not feel a little entitled when it came to Norá, but she trusted that what had happened was in the past. As if she could read her mind, Maren cleared her throat, drawing Elsa’s attention to the raised brow and smirk that let her know she would enjoy teasing her about that later that night.

  
  


***

As the evening drew to a close, and all the children had been taken to bed, Elsa walked up next to Anna. The music was quieter, and the sky was dark, the last of the festivities now lit with the street lamps and party lanterns only. It was beautiful, and peaceful, perfect for a longer goodbye. Anna would be leaving in a fortnight to travel to the Southern Isles, and Elsa wouldn’t be able to visit before then, so they would be apart for over a month. They were both happy, and of course it was still technically only a short goodbye, but it felt bittersweet nonetheless. Ryder and Kristoff were having a reindeer voice competition with Sven in the background, with Maren and Olaf judging them, so Elsa was taking the moment alone with Anna to her advantage. 

“Anna…” She said. She had asked a guard to look after a bag for her for the day, and now she pulled it open, pulling out two journals with a gentle smile. The first was their mother’s one, and the second her own translated copy of it. She looked at them for a moment, before holding them out to her sister. 

“What are these?” Anna asked. “This is the Northuldra book?” 

“It’s our mother’s journal.” Elsa said softly, and Anna’s eyes widened, her breath hitching. She looked down, fingering the front of it delicately. 

“How do you know?” Anna’s voice was high, and she swallowed, fighting off tears already.

“I translated it. Maren helped a lot obviously. We wrote the pages out for you in this one, so you can read it too.” Elsa smiled, and Anna’s lips quivered as she held the books to her chest. She threw her arms around Elsa suddenly, sobbing, and Elsa found herself letting a few tears fall as well, but with a smile. 

“You’re amazing, Elsa… thank you!” Anna pulled away, and looked back at the books. “What’s in there? Actually… No! I want to read it myself! ...No wait, tell me now!” 

Elsa laughed at the fight going on on Anna’s face.

“Nothing exciting I'm afraid. It’s mostly just her rambling about getting told off.” She chuckled. “She sounds a lot like _you_.” 

“Really…?” Anna looked unsure of herself, and Elsa knew that her feelings about their parents were complex. She hoped this would help her feel closer to them and to heal more. 

“Yes… She mentions dad in there too at one point.” She smiled at the memory of reading that page. 

_There is a boy with the boring men. He seems fun so I’m going to mess with him a bit. His hair is kind of cute… Agar? Agnan? Agnarrd? He said his name was something like that... I like him._

“Wow… Thank you…” Anna said finally, and they looked at each other, taking in each other's growth. There was a loud laugh from behind them and looked back over to their family, both smiling fondly. Elsa took in the scene of Ryder and Kristoff fighting playfully, Olaf clapping from Sven’s shoulders, and Maren laughing hysterically. It wasn’t the family she had expected, that she was sure of, but it was better than anything she could ever have imagined. 

She walked over to Maren, smiling widely, and slipped a hand into hers. 

“Hey Snowflake,” Maren kissed her quickly, still grinning, “how did it go?” 

“Perfect. Everything is perfect.” She replied. 

  
  
**END**

***

**COMING SOON**

As the chatter of her students grew louder, excited by the prospect of the end of the day, Maren let her gaze stray to where Elsa was stood, phone to her ear. Hidden behind the building, she was away from most of the students' line of sight, but with Maren spending most of her time on the field, she had prime position to watch her from afar. She couldn’t hear Elsa’s voice, but the frown darkening her expression, and the hand that was clenched at her side gave away that the conversation she was having wasn’t a pleasant one. Maren couldn’t help but wonder who she was talking to… a boyfriend? Husband? Someone important to the Academy, maybe? She felt a pang of jealousy at the idea, which she knew she shouldn’t entertain. She had only spoken to the woman a couple of times, and only once in a more relaxed setting, so she really had no reason to feel that way she did. But she couldn’t help herself from feeling fascinated by her icy boss.

Elsa turned, facing away from her, and Maren’s eyes dropped automatically to the curve of her ass, hugged by the pencil skirt that she was convinced should be banned. She felt sorry for the teenage boys who studied under her… She breathed slowly, wetting her lips as she imagined moving her braid to the side and kissing down her neck, slipping her arms ar-

“Hey!” Maren snapped her head around, coming face to face with a grumpy looking schoolgirl. _Anna. Pretty athletic, but won’t stop talking. I think she’s popular?_ Maren fished out the information quickly, clearing her throat as she tried to act like she hadn’t been caught perving on the principal. 

“Anna, what are you still doing here, shouldn’t you be getting ready to go home?” Maren could see Elsa throw a frustrated hand in the air out of the corner of her eye, but forced herself to keep looking at the younger girl, not wanting to start any rumours within her first term on the job.

“Sure, but not until you explain what your intentions are with my sister.” Anna spoke firmly, crossing her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows. 

_Her sister?_ Panic flooded through Maren’s chest. Anna seemed to be implying that she had some kind of intentions towards a student, which made her immediately anxious. Her eyes went wide, and she set her stance, ready to dispel the idea from her student’s mind with a firm talking to. 

“I’m not sure who your sister is Anna, but I assure you I have _no_ intentions with her whatsoever!” Anna rolled her eyes as her teacher spoke, and Maren took in a deep breath at the gesture, clenching her teeth together against the annoyance and concern she was feeling. 

“Oh _sure_ , tell that to her ass, seeing as you seem to love looking at it so much!” Anna said angrily, but she kept her tone hushed. Maren frowned, looking quickly around them to make sure no one was overhearing. She was suddenly very glad that she was a P.E. teacher, the field now practically empty of students. 

“ _Look_ , Anna, I don’t know what you _think_ you’ve been seeing, but I would never act that way towards a student. It’s highly inappropriate, and I don’t appreciate you suggesting such a thing.” She tried to sound sincere rather than panicked, but there was a seriousness to her voice that betrayed her. It wasn’t a simple thing to be accused of having relations with a student; true or not, it could ruin a teacher's career for good, and she couldn’t afford for that to happen.

“What?” Anna said, clearly confused. She recoiled with a frustrated huff. “Elsa isn’t a student, Miss Honey.” 

Maren’s mind went blank. She blinked slowly, not comprehending the information. _Anna… Winters… Prinical Winters… oh._

“Your sister is Principal Winters?” Maren looked back over to the woman in question, swallowing quickly when she noticed that Elsa was now watching them curiously, still frowning and talking on the phone. It was difficult to see the resemblance, with Elsa being so… blonde… and Anna’s hair being such a striking copper.

“She’s my half sister, yes. Now… do you want to bang her or not?” 

“ _Anna!_ ” She whispered harshly, pinning her with an angry glare. She received one of accusation in return, and felt her heart rate speed up. 

“You’re not exactly subtle about it you know. You’re lucky she’s completely oblivious to anyone having feelings for her.” Anna sighed after she spoke, and her posture relaxed a little as she looked over to her sister. Her expression softened, and Maren watched her brows furrow sadly. 

Maren returned her gaze to Elsa once more, running her eyes over the woman's figure, and feeling a soft shiver run through her body as she watched her pull a perfect pink lip between her teeth. 

_I’d like to do much more than just bang her..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it... thank you for sticking around. It's been a wild ride.
> 
> See ya later, K

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how long this fic is going to end up being, but i've already got four chapters written so hopefully it'll be a decent length. I started writing this on a bit of a whim so it's not massively planned out, but hopefully you like it anyway. There's been no external editing or anything so you'll have to excuse any random slip ups here and there with continuity or grammar or whatever. 
> 
> Anyway, see ya later


End file.
